It's Time to Change
by Critias
Summary: DISCONTINUED: Kaho, an orphaned teenage girl who stumbles upon The Universe of the Four Gods. She becomes the Suzaku no miko and meets Tasuki, but he dislikes women and she dislikes men. How are these two supposed to work together? Read and find out.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi. The OCs are my own though.

Author notes: This is the first time i've posted on fanfiction. net so... yeah.There wasn't any more room in the summary but this is an AU story... I thought my first paragraph was pretty bad XD but then again aren't all beginnings?

**Note: This fanfic is basically the original, but with a bit of a my own ideas.**

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A scream was heard after a bullet was fired from a gun, followed by a thump on the ground. Then another bullet was fired, followed by yet another thump. The girl watched in horror behind a corner as the madman killed her parents. Police sirens could be heard from a distance away. As soon as the madman heard the sirens, he immediately bolted out of there. As soon as the man was gone, the girl came out from hiding and ran to her parents. "Mom! Dad! Please don't die! Don't leave me!" she cried out, as tears came streaking down her face, holding her parents' hands. Her mother said weakly, "Don't worry Kaho... We'll always be... in your heart..." Then it was her father's turn to speak, "Your mother's right... Kaho. You have the... rest of... your life to... live out. So don't be... sad that we're not there... with you physically..." With those words set and done, Kaho's parents had died.

Beep, beep, beep, beep

The sound of her alarm woke her up. Wiping the sleep and eye gunk out of her eye, she decided to get some breakfast.

'I've had that same dream for a month now... I should see a doctor.'

Kaho is a fifteen, going on 16,year-old girl attending high school. Kaho's parents had died nearly a year ago, leaving their only child to fend for herself. She had sold the old house that she lived in, and now lived in her own apartment. Her apartment wasn't very big. The walls were baby blue and the floor was wooden. At the top right, she had a small kitchen, which she used to make her meals with. Across from her kitchen, to the left,was her bed. Beside the bed was a medium sized, wooden dresser. Her alarm clock sat on top of it. To the south of the kitchen (bottom right), was a bathroom.

Kahohad black hair, and had dyed the tips a bright red. Her eyes were an unusual red color. Not that she didn't have enough sleep, she had plenty every day, those were her natural iris colors, it can't be helped. She was born with 'em. She had also learned karate and how to sword fight just incase somebody tried to rape, steal from, or kill her

With a combination of beauty and strength, you'd think she has a lot of friends and even a boyfriend right? WRONG! Almost every guy from her school, down to the very last jock, had asked her out, and she refused every one of them. Everywhere she looked, men were violent; guys cheating on their girlfriends, guys stealing, guys picking fights and especially... a man had killed her parents. She just downright hated men.

As for friends, most people thought she was a weirdo; some people even thought of her as a freak! This was only because of her eyes. You'd hardly see anybody with red irises. There was one girl however, who constantly bullied her about almost everything there is to Kaho. Kaho didn't really care though. There was no point in getting upset when it would only make that girl happy.

Having finished breakfast, Kaho changed out of her pajamas into a pair of black pants and a black shirt that had the word "punk" on it. She picked up her backpack and walked outside her apartment. The kinds of locks they had in this building were electric locks. Kaho punched in the number to her lock and left for school.

It usually took fifteen minutes for her to get to the place. When she got to school, people began to whisper...

"Hey look! It's that Kaho girl!"

"Yeah. She's the one with the red eyes."

"What kind of person dies their hair like _that_?"

A girl with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing apink metallic watch on her wrist, a pink skirt and a white T-shirt with a heart on it, came up to Kaho and said, "Hey there little miss vampire, did you hang out with your other vampire friends? Oh that's right, you don't HAVE any friends!" and then smirked.

Kaho merely showed no emotion nor a reaction and just walked past the girl

The girl turned around and shouted, "Hey! Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners! What bad parents you had!"

Kaho stopped walking.

The girl smirked and said, "Oh, guess I hit a sore spot huh?"

Kaho turned around and walked towards the girl but stopped in front of her, still showing no emotion. Kaho raised her hand and... SLAP!

"You dare speak about my parents like that again, and you'll get more than a light slap. You've been warned, Misora." Kaho glared at Misora for a couple of seconds, and then continued walking to the school doors.

'You'll regret that, vampire girl... you'll regret it.' Misora thought angrily.

Throughout the rest of the school day, Kaho was left alone.

At the end of the day, Kaho's teacher had assigned her class with a lot of homework, so Kaho decided to head to the library to get started on her history homework. As Kaho exited the doors of the school, she found Misora out there, seemingly as if she was waiting for her and holding some sort of object in her right hand.

Kaho eyed the object carefully.

"Why, hello there, vampire girl. Fancy meeting you here!" Misora said. Misora had noticed that Kaho was eyeing the object in her hand. Grinning, Misora threw the object into the air and caught it at the bottom of the object. Kaho's suspicions had been confirmed about the object. It was a small dagger. The dagger had a golden hilt with rubies on the side.

Kaho got into her fighting position and glared at Misora.

"Relax, miss vampire" Misora said as she grinned, "just a few cuts here and there." Then Misora suddenly went from a grin to a look of anger. "It's payback for slapping me before! Nobody slaps me!" She yelled, "Quickly girls! Restrain her!"

Suddenly four girls, from out of nowhere, ran over to Kaho and held onto her arms and legs.

Kaho was surprised by the ambush. She hadn't expected there to be anyone but her and Misora. She was also surprised at the girls' strength. Kaho had tried to wriggle her arms free, but their grips merely tightened, making it a little harder to get free. Misora began walking towards Kaho, while waving the dagger around at the same time. Kaho noticed and stopped struggling.

When Misora was right in front of Kaho, she brought the dagger up to Kaho's face and was about to make a long cut across her cheek.

Before the dagger touched her face, Kaho noticed the girls' grips had loosened a little, so taking advantage of this bad situation, Kaho used as much strength as she could muster, and lifted the two girls on her arms. The two girls screamed and clung on, not wanting to fall.

'What is she doing!' Misora thought.

As soon as Kaho had lifted the girls as high as she could make them, she brought them down with extreme force, onto the two girls holding her legs, knocking all four of the girls out. Kaho made a move to run for it.

'No! She's going to run for it! Maybe if I'm quick enough, I can still get her!' Misora though. As fast as she could, Misora tried to make a cut on Kaho.

The dagger was a few inches away from Kaho's face, but Kaho's instincts kicked in and she brought her left backhand up to block the dagger from getting her face. As the dagger struck her hand, Kaho winced in pain.

'Well, that was a stupid thing to do...' Kaho thought, still in pain.

'Well... At least I got her.' Misora thought, grinning

Using her right hand, Kaho grabbed the hilt of the dagger and pulled it. When the dagger was out, the tip of it was dripping with blood. Her hand was dripping blood as well. Kaho looked at the dagger for a few seconds and brought her head up to look at Misora.

'Oh no! She's going to kill me!' Misora thought, frightened. Misora tried to runaway, but stopped when she heard a smashing sound.

When Misora turned around she saw Kaho standing right beside a big boulder holding a shattered dagger.

Kaho had walked to the boulder and smashed the dagger against it.

Misora began to run, and kept on running.

As soon as Misora was out of sight, Kaho collapsed, tired, but still conscious. Having caught her breath, Kaho got up and walked to her backpack. When she got to her backpack, Kaho reached inside, looking for some bandages. Once she found them, she used her right hand to wrap up her left.

'This'll help stop the bleeding,' Kaho thought.

Kaho slung the backpack over her shoulder and walked to the library.

When she got to the library, Kaho couldn't find any books about ancient China. How could she do her history homework without the information?

As Kaho was lost in thought, she heard a voice.

_"Come to me..."_ it said.

'WHAT?' Kaho thought, as she was brought out of her thoughts.

Kaho looked around, but didn't see anyone talking to her.

_"Come to me..."_ it said again.

This time, Kaho listened and heard it coming from a dim hallway. She decided to follow it, curious to know who was saying it. At the end of the hallway, she reached a door.

'Important Documents Reference Room, huh? I haven't seen this room yet. Gotta be something in there I can use for my homework…' Kaho thought and opened the door to a large room filled with dusty books on shelves.

'Hmmm... Ancient Japan, ancient Greece, ancient Rome...' she thought, listing the books as she walked along.

A red book seemed to catch her eye.

'The Universe of the Four Gods? It's got Chinese letters on the spine too. Looks like I found a good book.' she thought happily.

Kaho brought out the book, then sat down and began reading.

_Here in lies the tale of a girl who obtained the seven celestial warriors of Suzaku. She obtained omnipotent powers and made her wishes come true. The story itself is an incantation. Those who finish reading it shall receive the power. As soon as the page is turned, the story will become the truth and begin._

'Sounds like a fiction book... Oh well. It's been a while since I've had a good read anyway,' Kaho thought.

Kaho turned the page and a sudden burst of red light engulfed her. The cry of a bird was heard as well...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Once again... I don't own FY. Just the OCs.

Author notes: Knowing me... I'll probably have another chapter every week or two... because there's nothing else to do in school and I just get really bored at home. Anyway, don't get your hopes up too high on a new chapter really often. Anyways, people reviewed on my story and I appreciate it. I know I didn't put much detail into it and I'm sorry XD But I'll put in a little more detail into this chapter so I hope its better. Also, I just noticed Nakago has A LOT of blue! XD What's up with that?

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When Kaho awoke, she noticed she wasn't in the library anymore.

'Owww... my head hurts.' Kaho thought as she rubbed her head. 'Where am I?'

Kaho had landed in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but rocks and dust, left and right. The only thing that wasn't earth seemed to be a forest up ahead.

'I guess I should figure out where I am later. Maybe there's a place near that forest I can rest at...' Kaho thought.

With her plan made, Kaho got up and began to walk towards the forest.

After about an hour and a half of walking, it was already sunset and Kaho had arrived at the forest. When she arrived, Kaho found a road leading in to the forest. But before she could take another step further, two men jumped out from behind the trees.

Kaho got into her fighting stance.

"Hey, hey! Look at what we got here! She's a pretty one." The first man said.

Kaho made a face of disgust.

The second man spoke, "Maybe we shouldn't take her to Eikens yet. I mean a girl like this just doesn't come along everyday. She's too good to pass up!"

The first man spoke again, "Yeah, you're right! We should have a little fun first!"

The two men began to circle around her. They stopped when they were on both sides of her.

The first man yelled, "NOW!" Then the two of them dived at Kaho. When the two of them landed, Kaho was nowhere to be found.

"Argh... Where'd that little twerp go?" asked the second man.

"Up here, morons."

When the two men looked up, Kaho stepped on both their faces and then jumped off, leaving a footprint imprinted on their faces, and landed a few feet in front of them.

"ARGH! Why you little...!" said the two men in unison. They drew their swords, getting pretty ticked off at Kaho.

'I really ought to get myself a sword one day. Everybody seems to have one.' thought Kaho who smirked.

The two men ran towards Kaho and swung their swords horizontally. Once again, Kaho jumped out of the way, but this time, instead of landing in front of them, she jumped behind them and kicked their butts, letting them fall.

Before they could get up, Kaho quickly took their swords from them, and threw the swords away behind her.

"Now... There's going to be SOME fun around here, just not for the two of you." Kaho said with a wide grin across her face, beginning to crack her knuckles.

"Uh... Uh oh." The second man mumbled.

"Uh... wait! We can explain! You see-" the first man said.

"Oh, there's no need for explanations, gentlemen" Kaho said, still cracking her knuckles, "Now hold still… This won't hurt much."

Kaho threw all sorts of kicks and punches at them, causing a lot of dust to kick up.

When the dust had cleared, the two men lay there, unconscious, with an uncountable amount of lumps on their heads. You'd need a magnifying glass to see their faces.

"Well, it's been fun boys, but I really ought to get going," Kaho said, clapping her hands together.

While Kaho was distracted, a large figure got behind her and was beginning to strike...

"REKKA SHIEN!"

He was burned to a crisp before he struck.

Kaho quickly turned around and went into another fighting position, only to find a really big, blackened, rotund figure lying there, unconscious.

"Oi, ya ought to be more careful 'round these parts."

Kaho looked up from the fat man to another man with orange hair, fangs and golden-brown eyes. He was wearing a black trench coat, a white shirt under, beige pants, a beaded necklace and blue teardrop earrings. He also held what looked like a giant fan.

"You want a piece of me too?" Kaho asked, still cautious about the mysterious man.

"What? Sheesh, you'd think I would get a little thanks after savin' your sorry hide." he said.

Kaho got out of her fighting stance. "Fine... Thanks for saving me." she said with dislike.

"Now, that's a little better." he said, then noticed her strange clothing, "Hey, where're you from? You're dressed sorta funny. You're not from around these parts huh?"

Although he saved her, Kaho still didn't trust him. "None of your business." she said.

"Hmmm... Bit of an attitude huh? Well considerin' yer' not from around here and you look kinda lost, need a place to stay? I gotta tell ya, the guys'll love havin' ya around." he said with a smile.

"No thanks, I'll take my chances out here." Kaho said and then started walking along the road through the forest.

"Keep yourself outta trouble then! Oh and one more thing! My name's Tasuki!" he yelled as Kaho walked further into the forest.

'Eikens and his guys are probably gonna go after her again,' he thought then sighed. 'Women are so much trouble... May as well look out for her.'

It was already nightfall, so Kaho had to camp out in the forest. She found a narrow clearing, surrounded by trees and bushes and she had made a fire with some matches she had found in her backpack. She had also gathered some fruit from the trees. As she munched on one of her fruits, she gazed into the fire and remembered some of her childhood.

flashback

Kaho was 6 years old and just started elementary. All the other kids were teasing her about her eyes...

_Red eyes, red eyes, red eyes..._

They chanted that all the time.

"Ha ha ha, this kid is so pathetic." One of the bullies said. The other two bullies continued to beat her up and by the end of the day, Kaho was covered in bruises.

As soon as Kaho stepped into her house, her mother was saddened.

"Kaho, what happened?" her mother asked, but she already knew the answer.

"Nothing... I just fell... that's all," came the reply.

Her mother hugged her and began to cry.

"Mommy... I just fell, I just..." said Kaho, and she began to cry as well.

end flashback

Kaho finished eating her fruit and was about to put out the fire, when a rustle from a bush caught her attention.

The fat man, that was burned a while ago, came out.

"Ah, so I've finally found you. Tasuki'll pay for burning me, but first you're the one who roughed up my men right? The name's Eikens." he said as he pulled out his sword.

"Now it's my turn to have some fun!" he yelled and swung his sword vertically.

'Damn! No space to run!' Kaho thought quickly. Clapping her hands together, Kaho caught the blade, inches away from her face.

This is when he noticed Kaho's wound on her left hand. A big smile crept up on his face.

"Hm? What's he looking at?' Kaho thought, then looked at what he was eying at. He was eying at her left hand. 'If I let go of that sword, he'll kill me! If I don't... my wound will reopen!' she though and began to panic.

'Better pain then death!' she thought and prepared for the pain.

Using his left hand to hold the sword and applying strength to it as well, Eikens used his right hand to punch Kaho's left hand.

Kaho winced at the pain, but kept a firm grip on the blade. Eikens continued to punch at Kaho's hand.

'I'm not gonna be able to hold this blade for much longer.' she thought. Then she noticed that Eikens left himself unguarded.

'Okay, it's gonna hurt but he deserves it!' she thought. Before Eikens had time to land another punch, Kaho brought her right foot behind her, and swung her foot between Eikens' legs and up, and kicked him in the area where it hurts the most for men. It only took one swift kick to make him let go of the sword and howl in pain.

Kaho grabbed the hilt and jumped behind Eikens. She whacked him behind the head with the back of the sword, knocking him out.

Kaho stuck the sword in the ground and collapsed.

'That took a lot out of me...' she thought, panting. Then she remembered her hand, and brought it up to take a look.

The condition wasn't too good. The wound had indeed reopened, and it was bleeding right through the bandages.

Once she got up, she walked to her backpack and began rummaging for more bandages. When she found them, she changed the blood stained ones with cleaner ones.

As she finished, she glanced at Eikens.

'If I'm going to have a decent sleep in this bizarre place, I'll have to do something about him,' she thought. 'If I had some rope, this would be much easier...'

She looked at the remaining bandages she had left.

'Hmmm... I could use these... But considering what I've been through so far, I might need these later,' she thought and looked at Eikens again. 'Gotta live through the night first. Well, then I'll just be more careful.'

Unraveling the bandages, Kaho walked over to the tree closest to Eikens. Then holding one end of the bandages, she threw the other end over a branch. Kaho let go of the end she was holding and grabbed the other end and tied it around one of Eikens' legs. She grabbed the other end again, and using what's left of her strength, she hoisted Eikens up and tied the bandages to another tree's trunk.

'Phew. He's a heavy one. That oughtta work for now.' she thought.

Bringing her backpack with her, Kaho lay down beside a tree across from the now hanging, Eikens. Using her backpack as a pillow, Kaho dozed off.

An hour later, there was another rustle in the bushes. But Kaho was so tired, that she slept through the noise. From the bushes came out Tasuki.

'Oi, why do women have to be so hard to keep track of?' he thought to himself, 'I've been looking for hours and I can't find the stupid girl!'

Then he noticed two shadowy figures across from each other. One big one in mid-air, and one smaller one laid down beside a tree. He walked towards the big one first, and when he was close enough, he could make out Eikens' face, but upside-down.

His eye twitched and he made a nervous smile.

'What the hell was goin' on here?' he thought.

He then moved towards the smaller figure and saw Kaho's shadowy face. As he looked around, wondering what happened, the moon came out from behind the clouds and shone brightly around the area. Tasuki could now see Kaho more clearly. As he looked at her, he noticed there was a dark red stain on her left hand that he hadn't see before when he had first saw her. He noticed a sword, stuck in the ground beside her. He got a pretty good idea of what had happened.

After he looked around the area, he looked at Kaho's face. Her face seemed so peaceful, yet sad at the same time. He walked towards her and brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen on her face, then picked her up, bridle style, and walked up the mountain to the Mt. Leikaku bandits hideout.

Back in the real world...

Misora had been running around for a half hour, not deciding where she should go. Eventually, she stumbled upon the library, the same library Kaho was in before she got sucked into the book.

Misora decided to go inside in attempts to calm herself down, and plot revenge against Kaho later. The look on Kaho's face was terrifying. She had run off because she was afraid of Kaho and felt humiliated just from seeing her.

Misora wandered around the library 'til she heard a loud, strong cry of something ferocious.

Misora walked towards the direction she thought the sound was coming from and came upon a door.

'Important Documents Reference Room... I shouldn't be disturbed in here for a while.' she thought.

As she walked into the room, she saw a red book on the ground. She picked it up and started reading.

_Here in lies the tale of a girl who obtained the seven celestial warriors of Seiryu. She obtained omnipotent powers and made her wishes come true. The story itself is an incantation. Those who finish reading it shall receive the power. As soon as the page is turned, the story will become the truth and begin._

Misora turned the page, wanting to read more, but a blue light engulfed her and she was gone.

When Misora woke up, she appeared to be in an alleyway.

'Where am I?' she asked herself, then noticed that her watch was gone, 'Great... my watch is gone.'

Getting herself off the ground, she began wandering around. She turned around at least four or five corners, but she saw no one around. After she turned around a sixth corner, she saw two men. The men looked up and lecherous grins appeared on their faces. They stood up and began walking up to her.

Misora tried to run, but one of the men grabbed her arm before she could.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing here?" he asked.

"Don't you know it's not safe to be all alone on the streets?" the other man asked.

With fear in her eyes, Misora tried to wrench her arm free, but to no avail.

"Hey, hold this girl still will ya?" the man holding her arm said.

The other man went behind Misora and held onto her arms.

"No! Let me go! Let me go!" she cried.

The free man began to lift up her shirt.

Using her right foot, Misora kicked the man holding her in the knee. When he let go of her and grabbed his knee in pain instead, Misora ran as quickly as she could.

"Someone, anyone! Please, help me! Help!" she yelled.

But before she could get much further, one of the men ran and dived at her, pinning her to the ground.

Misora screamed.

"Somebody! Please help me!" she yelled

"Hey! Shut this stupid girl up!" the man yelled to the other one.

The other man walked over with a large piece of wood and whacked her on the head.

"Kaho..." she whispered, before fainting.

When she woke up, somebody was carrying her. She opened her eyes and saw a man with long blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing blue armor with a navy blue cloak over it, navy blue wristbands and marine blue earrings. He wore a navy blue mask over his nose and mouth so the majority of his face could not be seen. His armor was navy blue with marine blue sides and outlining. On his shoulder, he wore shoulder mail that looked like a dragon's claw.

Misora looked around and began to panic.

"Don't worry young lady. I saved you from those men, but unfortunately, I was too late before they took your virginity." he said.

Misora began to cry uncontrollably. She arrived at a new place, away from her home, and she had been raped.

"My name is Nakago, and there is someone I'd like you to meet." he said and hugged her.

Misora nodded and fell asleep in his arms.

Nakago smiled.

'This plan has just sprung into action...' he thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi and I'm going to be saying that for a while Nor do I own the song that is partially displayed in this chapter. 3

Author Notes: First of all... I'm a girl shock gasp ooh, aah Yes. I bet it's a surprise ain't it? Well another chapter going up as you can tell. And when you guys or gals are done reading this, would you mind commenting on Kaho? She didn't turn out the way I planned it but I'm not sure if I should change her ; And, I wanted to make Tasuki more naggy about women and stuff but he turned into this... comment on him too would you? It would be appreciated ; And thanks to my good friend and fellow author, Kamehameha who proof-read all my chapters, so that I wouldn't screw up

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The sound of a scream and a gun going off was heard... Kaho's parents dropped to the ground with a thump... and the madman laughed...

Kaho shot straight up, sweating bullets and panting.

It was in the middle of the day when she woke up.

Kaho looked around.

She was on a bed, in a small room. The walls were white, the floors had red tiles, and the plants were next to the doors. There was a desk stood beside the bed she was on, and there was also a chair near the desk as well.

'Where am I... how did I get here?' she thought.

Suddenly the doors swung open as Tasuki came in with a tray of food. The tray had two dumplings which were the size of baseballs, a bowl of rice and some chopsticks.

"You..." Kaho said and glared at Tasuki, "Did you bring me here?"

Tasuki placed the tray on the desk.

"Hm? Yeah, I brought 'cha here. I told ya to be careful, but instead, ya go an' try ta' get yourself killed." he said and pointed to her left hand.

Kaho scrunched up her face and crossed her arms.

"Whatever. Where am I anyway?" she asked.

Tasuki grabbed the chair, then put it beside the bed and sat down.

"Yer' in the Mt. Leikaku bandits' hideout. I'm the leader here." he said and jerked a thumb at himself.

Kaho wore a confused look on her face.

"Mt. Leikaku? Never heard of it..." she said.

"What? Ya never heard of Mt. Leikaku? Guess that means you've never heard of us either." Tasuki said, "Anyway, where're you from? Yer clothes pretty much give a clue that cha ain't from around here."

"I'm from Tokyo, Japan." Kaho said.

Tasuki raised an eyebrow.

"I've never heard of a village in Konan named that before." he said.

"KONAN?" Kaho said, surprised, "what kind of place is THAT?"

"It's the country we're in, stupid!" Tasuki yelled. "Konan is the southern country, Kutou is the eastern country, in the north is Hokkan and in the west is Sairo." he stated.

A thought suddenly struck Kaho's head and her eyes became wide.

"The book..." she muttered.

"What?" Tasuki asked.

Snapping back to her senses, Kaho said, "Nothing. I have to get home..." she said, but with a sad look crossing her face and looking down at her hands.

'But what's the point of going home if I have no home to go to... where only misery awaits me...' she thought.

"Something the matter?"

Tasuki's voice broke into her thoughts.

"No, nothing." she replied

Kaho brought her head back up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Kaho tried to get up, but when she did, she immediately fell to her knees.

Tasuki got up off the chair. He kneeled down beside Kaho and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, hey! Watch it. Yer' still a little sore from yesterday. You should eat and rest up to regain your strength." he said.

Although, she didn't like her place in her world all that much, it was still where she was born, and she didn't feel comfortable being so far away from it.

"I'll be fine. I should go back home." she said.

Tasuki frowned.

'She must think I'll do somethin' to her or somethin'.' he thought.

"Hey. Look, you don't have ta' worry about me doin' anythin' to ya. I don't even like women so-" Tasuki said.

"Then the feeling is mutual," she interrupted, "I can't stand men, whether they mean well or not."

Kaho glared at the floor.

"Hey. I'll help ya get home okay? But first, eat. And. Rest. Up." he said, and held out his other hand.

Kaho stopped glaring at the floor and looked at Tasuki. Kaho still felt uncertain, but she had a strange feeling that she could trust Tasuki, for the time being. Kaho took Tasuki's hand as he helped her up and onto the bed.

"Well, I have to go take care a' some business. I'll come check up on ya later. You can eat the food on the tray I left for ya." he said and pointed to the tray on the desk, "Oh yeah. By the way, what's your name? Never did get it."

"My name's Kaho," Kaho answered.

Tasuki smiled and said, "Kaho, huh? It's a nice name." Then he left and closed the doors, leaving a surprised Kaho.

After leaving Kaho, Tasuki went to the lunch room. The lunch room was usually filled with many bandits talking and eating at tables. It was a fairly large room.

When Tasuki entered the lunch room, he heard someone call his name. So he turned around to see who it was. Kouji, Tasuki's best friend and fellow bandit was the one calling him. Kouji had dark blue hair and brown eyes. He wore a white shirt with a crimson collar and a shoulder cloth with yellow tips, white pants and a black sash.

"Hey, Genrou!" he said, waving his arm and smiling.

"Kouji!" Tasuki said and they hooked arms and started doing a little dance.

They stopped after about a minute and sat down at a table.

"So, who was it that you brought in last night Genrou?" Kouji asked.

"It was just a girl who was lost in the forest," Tasuki said. "She wasn't from around here an' Eikens an' his men attacked her, so I gave her a place to stay."

A big, wide grin appeared on Kouji's face.

"Ol' Tasuki likes women after all eh? Don't be too rough on her!" Kouji said and patted Tasuki on the back.

Tasuki's eyes became wide and his pupils became tiny.

"WHAT! All I did was help 'er out an' ya think I like women!" Tasuki yelled. Still mad at Kouji, Tasuki crossed his arms and calmed down. "Anyway, how did the job go in Konan's capital when ya got there?" Tasuki asked.

Tasuki had sent Kouji to look around Konan's capital for the next mission, and to steal some food and money for the bandits on his way back.

"It wasn't too bad. We'll need about ten men to watch our backs." Kouji answered.

"Good. Don't sound too hard then." Tasuki said, "Well, guess I should decide who's goin'. I'll come find ya when I've got the men."

Tasuki got up and left to look for the men. They were Chiko, Kaemon, Kano, Ken, Kenji, Montaro, Takeo, Yoshi, Michio and Meiji. It took Tasuki a while to find them all, since they were scattered all around the hideout. Once he had located all of them, he found Kouji again and led them all to his room for a meeting.

The meeting took about two and a half hours, making it sunset when they finally finished.

"I'll see you guys later. I have to go check on someone," he said. "Kid's probably hungry by now."

"Checking up on your GIRLfriend huh?" Kouji said, smiling and avoiding a punch from Tasuki.

Tasuki left, storming and muttering something about rabid weasels on Kouji's bed.

Before Tasuki went to Kaho's room, he dropped by the kitchen to grab some food for her. He picked up a pair of chopsticks, a bowl of rice, some pork and vegetables and put them on a tray.

When he arrived at Kaho's room, he opened the doors.

"Hey, Kaho. I-" he said before finding a foot a few inches away from his face. Tasuki held his breath and stared at the foot, going cross-eyed.

Kaho finally brought down her foot, and Tasuki breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't do that again. Ya scared the crap outta me." Tasuki said, patting his chest.

"Well, next time, try knocking first." Kaho said and sat on her bed.

Tasuki used one hand and brought a chair in front of Kaho. He put the food down on the desk and sat down.

"Well, as you can tell, I brought cha some food to eat," Tasuki said. "I can tell yer' already feelin' better. So what've you been doing in here?"

"Practicing my fighting skills and meditating." Kaho said. She picked up the chopsticks and bowl of rice and started eating.

"Well, just so ya know, some a' my men an' I are gonna be gone for 'bout two er' three days," Tasuki said. "We'll be doing somethin' big in the capital of Konan."

Kaho gulped down the remaining food in her mouth.

"I'm coming along." Kaho said.

Tasuki rested his elbow on his leg and put his chin in his hand.

"No way. It's too dangerous," Tasuki said, "you could be raped or killed or-"

"I can handle things like that on my own," she said quickly. "And hell knows what the men here'll do. Probably gang up on me, and if I can scare you with a little kick, I'm sure I can handle the outside world."

Tasuki was going to protest some more, but Kaho gave him a look that said she was going whether he liked it or not.

Sighing, Tasuki gave in and said, "Alright. You can come along. But make sure you stick close and don't wander off."

Kaho nodded and said," Thanks Tasuki."

Tasuki sighed again.

'Women are so pushy,' he thought.

"So, tell me. What are you going to do in the capital?" Kaho asked.

Tasuki lifted his chin from his palm.

"We're going to steal some money from the emperor," Tasuki replied. "There's bound to be a lot of guards, so that's why I sent my friend, Kouji, to check it out first."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you said you guys were bandits." Kaho said quietly, but loud enough for Tasuki to hear.

"Don't mix us up with any of those common crooks who steal for themselves," Tasuki said, crossing his arms. "We steal from the rich, keep a little for ourselves and give the rest to the poor."

"But still, stealing is stealing, no matter what the reason." Kaho said.

'First, she insists that she comes and now she's lecturing me on stealing. What did I do to deserve this cruelty?' Tasuki thought.

"Still wanna come along?" Tasuki said, thinking she'd say no.

"Yep." came Kaho's reply, "After all, I suppose I owe you for saving me yesterday."

Tasuki glared at her with his left eye.

"How old are ya?" he asked pointing his right index finger at Kaho.

"I'm sixteen." she answered.

"Hm. Only a year younger than me." he said.

"You're only seventeen and you're the LEADER of mountain bandits!" Kaho said, surprised.

"I couldn't stand my old place any longer, so I joined up with these guys and worked my way to the top." Tasuki said, "Well, it's gettin' pretty late. I gotta go make a few rounds, around the place to make sure everythin's okay."

"Alright. G'night." Kaho said.

Tasuki stood, placed the chair beside the desk and left the room, closing the doors behind him.

Tasuki walked around the hideout and made sure everything was secure and that the men on guard duty were actually doing their jobs. Coincidently, some of the men fell asleep, but it took nothing like a good whack from Tasuki to wake them up.

All this took about an hour for Tasuki to do, before he was a hallway away from Kaho's room.

As he walked towards the hall with Kaho's room, he could hear someone singing.

_Alone for a while I've been searching through the dark._

Tasuki was only a few feet from Kaho's room now. He stood still and listened a little longer.

_For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart,  
__To weave by picking up the pieces that remain,  
__Melodies of Life- love's lost refrain._

Tasuki could tell Kaho was singing it now and he started walking again. Tasuki arrived at Kaho's door and put his ear close to it and heard more.

_Our paths they did cross, though I cannot say just why,  
__We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbye.  
__And who'll hear the echoes of the stories never told?  
__Let them ring out loud till they unfold._

Tasuki noticed that, although she sang beautifully, she sang with much sadness, but he didn't hear her cry.

'Hm? How come she stopped singing?' he wondered.

But before he could run off without being seen by anyone, the door opened and he fell through, spread out on the floor.

He looked up and saw Kaho. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head with his right hand.

"What're you doing?" Kaho asked, looking at him.

Tasuki stood up and brushed himself off.

"Well, ya see, I made my rounds like I said and I heard ya singin' and uh..." he said, still rubbing the back of his head.

Kaho sighed, then walked to her bed and sat down.

"I don't like it when people hear me sing," Kaho said, allowing her eyes to look down at the floor. "They always tease. If it's not my eyes, it's something else."

Tasuki stopped rubbing the back of his head and a confused look appeared on his face.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" he asked.

Tasuki hadn't paid much attention to Kaho's facial features, so he didn't know.

Kaho looked up at Tasuki. Tasuki looked at her eyes.

"My iris' are red." Kaho said bluntly.

"Yeah? What of it? I don't see why people would tease ya 'cause a' that and your voice either," he said. "Can't cha just beat 'em up?"

Kaho's gaze fell to the ground again.

"No, I can't." she said, "Where I'm from, I have to go to school, and if I do that, I could get expelled. I can't afford to mess up."

Tasuki decided to ask what school was later.

"Well yer' hearin' this from me," Tasuki said and then continued, "There's nothing wrong with ya and ya sing great."

Kaho looked up and smiled, "Thanks, Tasuki."

"Good smile too. You oughtta smile more often ya know?" Tasuki said and grinned.

Kaho blushed. She never received compliments like those before, except from her parents. But then again, parents are supposed to be supportive of their children.

Tasuki closed the door and sat down on the bed, next to Kaho.

"Where'd ya hear that song from anyway?" Tasuki asked.

Kaho continued to smile, but sadness could be seen in her eyes.

"My mother used to sing it to me all the time," Kaho said. "Now, I sing it only when I feel sad or lonely and I can't cry because I promised her that I wouldn't."

The next thing Kaho knew, Tasuki had put his arms around her and hugged her in a tight embrace. Kaho was surprised by this.

"If ya really want to go back home... I'll protect ya 'til yer' there." Tasuki whispered.

Having gotten over her little shock, Kaho closed her eyes and returned the hug.

Unknown to them, Kouji was outside the room, carefully hidden behind the doors, with a big smile on his face.

Kouji heard everything


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Still don't own Fushigi Yuugi... and I don't own the song that's still partially displayed in this chapter.

Author notes: Longer update then before. Hope you guys and gals didn't mind. Some idiot was pushin people around at school and I sprained my pinky. Thank you all for reviewing Tasuki and the chapter at the same time. I knew he was too nice... I've turned violent Tasuki into Tamahome. None of my characters are turning out the way I planned. 'cept for Misora. Unfortunately, there's no mushy stuff in this chapter. I tried to fix Tasuki. But I don't think it worked too well. And if you find any lack of detail, please don't mind because I was too lazy. I know! Shame on me! Thanks to Kamehameha again for proof-reading.

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The next day, Kaho woke up, bright and early in the morning. Kaho sat up in bed and using her right hand, she rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. After that, she stretched her limbs.

Last night, after her little hug incident with Tasuki, Kouji had quickly run off before being caught and Tasuki had returned to his own bedroom.

Kaho brought up her left hand and took off the bandages for examination. Her hand had healed quite a bit, but once it fully healed, it was going to leave a scar.

After stretching out, Kaho decided to go out of her room and look around the place.

Kaho got up and opened the doors. She was in awe when she saw the landscape scene in front of her. She put her elbows on the railings and viewed the sunrise, mountains, river, and other parts of the landscape. Kaho's face became very calm and she had a peaceful look in her eyes.

"Hey. You must be Kaho."

Sighing, Kaho turned to see Kouji with a tray of food. Kaho raised an eyebrow.

"Who're you?" asked Kaho.

"Me? Well, I'm Genrou's best bud and fellow bandit, Kouji. He told me ta bring ya some food ta eat." Kouji said and handed the tray to Kaho.

"Who's Genrou?" Kaho asked.

"Ah, well, Genrou's his real name, but most people just call 'im Tasuki." Kouji said. Then he raised a hand to her chin, "Genrou's got good taste in women, but he's too stubborn to admit he likes 'em. Maybe I oughtta keep ya instead."

Kaho went back into her room, but not without punching Kouji in the cheek with her fist first.

"Ow! That's some punch that girl's got!" Kouji said, rubbing his cheek.

'Men...' Kaho thought with disgust. Kaho placed the tray on the desk and sat down on her bed.

After finishing the food, Kaho began to think about how she got to this world.

'I went to the library to look for some books and found that red book inside that reference room...' she thought and remembered the words she first read. 'When I turned the page... that weird light enveloped me and I winded up here... It must be some kind of magic book or something.'

_"If ya really want ta go back home... I'll protect ya 'til yer there."_

Tasuki's words had entered her mind and Kaho began to blush.

'Argh! What am I thinking! Men are nothing but trouble!' she thought and clutched her head in frustration, 'He was probably just playing a prank.'

Kaho had stayed in her room for only about a half hour and then she was getting bored. Kaho decided to try looking around the hideout again. Kouji had already disappeared, so it wasn't a problem for Kaho. Kaho picked up her backpack, which was in a corner, then exited her room and began wandering around.

As Kaho wandered, some of the bandits began to whisper about her.

"What strange clothes she has." one bandit whispered.

"Her eyes are strange as well." another whispered.

'Ha... so even here I can't escape the misery.' Kaho thought dryly, but continued to explore.

"Hey, Kaho. How's it-" Tasuki said as he opened the doors to Kaho's room, but noticed she wasn't there. He also noticed the empty food tray. "Well, least I know she ate something.' Tasuki thought.

Tasuki left her room and began to look for her. When he found her, she had her backpack beside her and she was sitting in front of a pond, behind the hideout. She seemed to be just gazing into the water.

"Well, now's no time ta let 'er be. Gotta get goin' with the mission.' Tasuki thought and walked towards her. He stopped when he was beside her. Kaho noticed and looked up at him.

"Hey Kaho. Let's go. We're gonna start goin' ta the capital now." Tasuki said.

But Kaho didn't budge. All she did was turn her gaze back to the water.

Tasuki raised an eyebrow.

"Kaho? Come on." Tasuki said.

Still nothing from Kaho.

'Why don't women just do as they're told...' Tasuki thought, getting annoyed.

Finally, Kaho picked up her backpack and stood up.

Tasuki put on a confused look.

"Come on Tasuki. Let's go. Don't want the guys waiting any longer." Kaho said.

Tasuki began leading Kaho to the front of the hideout which was where the guys were waiting, and where it was also the easiest way to go down the mountain.

"What were you doing by the pond?" Tasuki asked as they walked.

"Nothing. Just... thinking." Kaho replied.

"Hey Genrou! Couldn't ya have spent some quality time with Kaho another time?" Kouji shouted as Tasuki and Kaho arrived at the front of the hideout.

"What! Why you..." Tasuki said and tried to whack Kouji on the head, but missed.

"Anyway, I got the tessen for ya." Kouji said.

"Thanks Kouji. This'll make the job a lot easier." Tasuki said, taking the tessen from Kouji.

"Well, not to sound rude or anything, but what could a giant fan do to help us out, except for cooling us down?" Kaho asked.

"What! This ain't any ordinary fan, ya moron! An' it's called a Tesssen. It's a magic fan, made of iron, that can spew out flames." Tasuki stated. "Oh yeah. Guys, this is Kaho. Don't try ta make a move on 'er, otherwise, she'll kick yer asses. Ya can even ask Kouji." Tasuki said and pointed to Kouji's cheek.

Kouji turned away.

"One more thing." Tasuki said and grabbed the sword on his waist, then handed it to Kaho," You can use this, incase ya get in ta any trouble while we're busy."

Kaho held onto the sword with her right hand and swung it a few times to see how heavy it was. It was obviously heavier then the wooden swords she used when she practiced at home, but it was light enough for her to carry around and use.

"Thanks Tasuki." Kaho said and tied the sword, blade facing down, to her waist with some cloth one of the bandits handed her.

"Alright. Everythin' ready?" Tasuki asked and everyone nodded, "Let's go."

Tasuki began leading them down the mountain.

After about six hours of walking, it was the middle of the day when Tasuki and the group decided to stop and eat something before continuing.

They had reached the forest Kaho was in when she first arrived. The bandages Kaho had used to hoist Eikens up were gone, and so was the sword that was wedged in the ground.

Kaho sat down at the same tree she had slept by.

Tasuki walked towards Kaho.

"Here," he said and handed Kaho a couple of pork buns, "We're already half ta the capital. A few more hours a' walkin' and we'll be there."

"Thanks Tasuki," Kaho said, "For letting me tag along."

"Eh? I didn't have much of a choice." Tasuki said and chuckled, "If I didn't let 'cha come, you'd be slappin' me silly."

Kaho smiled.

The group had stayed and rested for about twenty minutes before they continued to walk. When they got out of the forest, a big group of men were there. There were about fifteen to twenty men. They seemed to be waiting for Tasuki and the group to come out.

"Hey Tasuki, what took ya so long? I see you brought the girl too." a voice from the middle of the crowd of men said.

Eikens walked out from the crowd with a large smile on his face.

Everyone on both sides, drew their swords, except for Tasuki, who drew his tessen.

"ATTACK!" Eikens shouted.

All of Eikens' men ran at Tasuki's group. At least five men went after Kaho, thinking she was the weakest, seeing as she was a girl. But Kaho was more than experienced when fighting more then one person.

Kaho quickly shifted the blade the opposite way, so that the blade was facing upwards and she pulled the cloth down further and turned it, so that the sword's tip reached her feet and was between her legs.

When the men swung their swords horizontally at Kaho, she jumped on each of their heads, and because the blunt side of the sword was hanging so low, when Kaho landed on their heads and jumped off, the sword would strike their heads.

Jump, strike. Jump, strike. Jump, strike. Jump, strike. Jump, strike.

After jumping off the last man, Kaho landed on the ground, back towards the still men. When Kaho shifted the cloth and sword back beside her waist, all five of the men collapsed, unconscious, onto the ground.

"Kaho! Look out behind ya!" Tasuki yelled, and used the tessen to block his opponent's attack.

Kaho turned around and saw Eikens lunging at her, holding his sword with both his hands over his head.

Kaho's eyes became wide. She couldn't move! Her legs had turned to jelly and Eikens was about to strike. Kaho shut her eyes, waiting for death to come.

But nothing happened.

Kaho opened her eyes and saw Kouji standing beside a dead Eikens with a bloody sword in his hand.

Kaho came back to her senses and dropped to the ground.

"Hey Kaho! You alright?" Kouji shouted.

"Y-yeah. Just a little frightened." Kaho said. When she finally got herself back together, she stood up and ran towards Kouji, "Thanks a lot for saving me..."

"Hey, no problem. Genrou would have my head if somethin' happened to ya." Kouji said and snickered.

"Hey! I heard that!" Tasuki shouted and finished off the last of Eikens' men. After finishing off his opponent, Tasuki ran over to Kouji and grabbed his shoulders and began to shake him.

"How many times do I have ta tell ya! I don't like women!" Tasuki shouted while shaking Kouji.

Kaho smiled.

"Hey Tasuki. You said that your tessen could make flames right? How come you didn't use it on those men?" Kaho asked.

Tasuki stopped shaking Kouji and turned to Kaho.

"Eikens' men were too close to my own. If I had used it, I would've gotten rid a' me own men." Tasuki said, "And uh... sorry for... not rescuin' ya before. Good thing Kouji was around."

Kaho nodded, letting Tasuki know it was alright.

"Besides, we came outta that hassle with only a few injuries." Tasuki said and jerked a thumb towards Kenji, Takeo, and Montaro, "We should wait for these guys to get better before going on with the mission."

Tasuki brought out some bandages from his pack and gave them to the uninjured men who, in turn, helped bandage up the injured ones.

After the men were bandaged, Tasuki and company continued towards the capital. It took them the rest of the day to get there. When they arrived, it was already midnight.

Tasuki had found an inn and rented seven rooms. Each bandit had to pair up and share a room, and since Kaho was the only girl among the bandits, Tasuki decided it would be better if she got her own room. Each room was the same; auburn-painted walls, white floor tiles, two twin-sized beds, and a large wooden desk between the beds.

Tasuki and Kouji were sharing a room. They had already gotten into their beds and blew out the lanterns. Tasuki lay on his side, back towards Kouji, while Kouji lay on his back.

"Hey Genrou, you awake?" Kouji asked.

"Yeah," Tasuki replied, "What d'ya want?"

"Why'd ya bring Kaho ta our hideout?" Kouji asked.

"I thought I already told ya that I don't like women and because- "Tasuki said.

"Are ya sure there ain't another reason?" Kouji said quickly.

"Well what other reason could there be? Women are nothi' but trouble, I tell ya." Tasuki said.

"That ain't what it seemed like when you were in her room the other night." Kouji said, smiling.

Tasuki sat up and looked at Kouji with wide eyes.

"How did ya..." Tasuki said, then shaking his head, "I mean, whatever ya think happened is a misunderstandin'. It didn't mean anythin'."

"Then ya won't mind if I get the girl right?" Kouji said.

Tasuki lay back down on the bed and turned his back to Kouji.

"Be my guest. I couldn't care less." Tasuki said then dozed off.

'Man. What a stubborn guy.' Kouji thought then dozed off as well.

In Kaho's room...

Kaho had gotten into her bed and blew out the lanterns. Kaho was restless. She had a lot on her mind.

'Do I really want to go back home? Here, nobody knows me... and I could start a new life, and perhaps a happier one,' Kaho thought. 'But... when I was at the Mt. Leikaku hideout, it wasn't much different than at school.'

Kaho lay on her side and brought her knees up to her chest.

'The men here are the same as the ones back home.' she thought bitterly.

Kaho paused for a moment and began to sing.

_Alone for a while I've been searching through the dark,  
__For the traces of the love you left inside my lonely heard,  
__To weave by picking up the pieces that remain  
__Melodies of Life - loves lost refrain.  
__  
Our paths they did cross, though I cannot say just why.  
__We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbye.  
__And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told?  
__Let them ring out loud till they unfold._

_In my dearest memories, I see you reaching out to me.  
__Though you're gone, I still believe that you can call out my name._

_A voice from the past, joining yours and mind.  
__Adding up the layers of harmony,  
__And so it goes, on and on.  
__Melodies of Life,  
__To the sky beyond the flying birds - forever and beyond..._

Meanwhile, in Tasuki and Kouji's room...

Tasuki had woken up and sat straight up in bed. He rubbed his right eye.

'I coulda sworn I heard Kaho singin' right now...' Tasuki thought and paused a few moments. 'Guess it was just my imagination.' Tasuki thought, then he yawned and went back to sleep.

The next morning, Kaho woke up to Tasuki knocking on the door, telling her to get up. After stretching her limbs, Kaho opened up the door and followed Tasuki downstairs to the tables for breakfast. Kouji and the other bandits were already there, waiting for Tasuki and Kaho.

After Tasuki and Kaho had sat down with the guys and grabbed a bite to eat, they began to discuss the plan to rob the emperor.

"Given from Kouji's info, the palace is friggin' huge. Hell knows how many rooms there are in that place, but at least one of 'em's gotta be the treasury. So all of us are gonna have ta take at least two others and go into the palace on all sides. There's probably gonna be a lot a' guards, so be careful. Kouji, Kaho, and I'll go in through the back. Chiko, Kaemon, Kano, and Ken'll go in through the left. Kenji, Montaro, and Takeo, go in through the right. Now, Yoshi, Michio, and Meiji, you guys're gonna have an important job. You'll be going to the front of the palace, but don't go in. Instead, attract as much a' the guards' attention on the other sides as ya can. Then just knock 'em out or somethin'. There're walls all around the castle so tie a hook to some rope and throw it over, that should do it. If you see any guards in the castle, knock 'em out. Alright, when the sun has reached its highest, meet back here." Tasuki said.

Everyone nodded, then got up and left for the palace. Tasuki and Kouji were at the front, leading the group, while Kaho was in the back. Kaho looked at the houses as she walked. Many of them were no less then two stories high and were made of wood and clay. The roofs seemed to be shingles made of split bamboo shoots and were fashioned like the roof of a chinese temple.

Along the way to the palace, as they passed people, the people began to whisper about Kaho.

"Oh my. That girl is wearing such strange clothes." one woman whispered.

"She's not human! Look at those eyes!" one man whispered.

"She must be a witch! Look at her hair!" another woman whispered.

Tasuki stopped and turned around.

"Will y'all shaddup! Ya don' even know 'er! What gives ya the right ta judge 'er!" he shouted.

Kaho walked up to Tasuki.

"It's alright, Tasuki. I've gotten used to it by now." Kaho said and continued to walk.

Tasuki frowned.

'What did she mean "by now"? ' Tasuki thought and continued walking as well.

Kaho was ahead of the group. The palace was within sight, so she knew where she was going. But she wasn't prepared for what happened next. Someone, as quick as a blur, ran at Kaho and snatched her backpack from her hands, then ran off into an alley.

"Hey! Come back here with my backpack!" Kaho shouted and ran after the stranger, matching the exact same speed.

"Kaho! Wait! Come back!" Tasuki shouted and ran after her, "You guys wait there 'til we're back!"

The mysterious figure ran through many twists and turns and eventually, he came across a fork. One way to the right and another path straight ahead. Both led to dead ends. The stranger decided to take the right path. At the end of the path were many crates. They reached as high as the walls. The stranger pushed some of the crates away and hid behind them.

Kaho had just reached the fork.

"Which way, which way... I think he went right.' Kaho thought and ran to the right. When she reached the end of the path, all she saw were crates.

'Damnit. Where'd he go...' she thought, 'Maybe he went the other way...'

Kaho turned around and ran back to the intersection and went in the opposite direction as the one she went through.

As soon as the stranger couldn't hear her footsteps anymore, he breathed a sigh of relief.

'Alright. Let's see what we can sell today.' he thought, grinning.

He dug inside Kaho's backpack, but all he found were textbooks, a key, and a diamond encrusted bracelet.

'This stuff's worthless! The only thing worth selling is this bracelet!' he thought and put the bracelet in his pocket.

He opened another bag and dug in. This time, he found a picture. It was a picture of a girl, about nine years old and a woman and a man on both sides of her.

'Looks like this is pretty important to that girl,' he thought with guilt, 'I should give it back to her.'

He got out from behind the crates and ran after Kaho.

When he caught up to her, he saw that she was being confronted by two men. Both of them seemed drunk. The first man had brown eyes and wore a green shirt and gray pants. The other man had the same color of eyes, but wore a red shirt and brown pants.

He found some more crates along the right wall and hid behind them.

"Come on, girlie. Come have a little fun with the two of us." the man in the green shirt said.

Kaho crossed her arms.

"I'll ask you one more time. Have you, or have you not, seen a man with a dark blue bag come through here?" Kaho asked, getting annoyed. She had already asked the two men the same thing three times and her patience was running out.

"Oh, come on. Just for a little while." the red shirted man said and grinned.

Kaho uncrossed her arms and turned around to leave, but both men had grabbed her arms.

"You're not going anywhere." the man with the green shirt said.

The stranger behind the crates looked away. He was going to help her out, but not with something in his hands. So he put the backpack down and stepped out from behind the crates. But what he was seeing next was unexpected. There Kaho was, standing in front of two men who were sprawled out on the ground, unconscious. Lucky for him, Kaho had turned her back to him, so he wasn't caught yet.

His left eye twitched and a nervous smile appeared on his face.

'What's up with this kid,' he thought, then closed his eyes and breathed in and out a few times to calm himself, 'Don't wanna mess with a person like that.'

When he opened his eyes, he saw Kaho right in front of him. Apparently while he was distracted, Kaho had noticed him and took the advantage.

Kaho could see him very clearly now. He had dark blue hair that reached down to the middle of his back and gold eyes. He wore a navy blue shirt and pants to match. He also wore a red sash on his waist.

"Give me back my backpack." Kaho said sternly.

The stranger grabbed the bag from where he left it and handed it over to Kaho. As soon as Kaho got her bag, she began to dig through it to make sure everything was there.

"Well, guess I'll be going." he said, smiling and waving goodbye.

"Hold it!" Kaho said, "Give me back the bracelet."

He took out the bracelet from his pocket.

"This thing? But it's worthless" he lied.

"Not to me it isn't. A thief like you could never understand what it means to me." Kaho said and snatched the bracelet and put it back into her bag.

The stranger frowned at this and was about to say something, when Tasuki finally caught up with Kaho.

"Yo! Kaho! Are ya alright?" he shouted, then noticed the man next to her.

As soon as Tasuki got close enough, he jumped onto the man's shoulders and began pulling his hair.

"What did ya do ta her! Ya better not 'ave done anythin'!" Tasuki yelled.

"Ow, ow, ow! Quit pulling my hair and get off of me!" the stranger yelled and began to spin around in circles.

Kaho watched and sweatdropped at the two men fighting.

The stranger finally got Tasuki off of his shoulders and Tasuki landed on his butt, with a thud on the ground.

"I didn't do anything to the girl, got that? I'm not that kind of person. I'm only interested in money," he said, "And my name's Tamahome."

With that, Tamahome ran off, back through the allies and back onto the streets.

"The nerve of that guy" Tasuki said, "Let's go Kaho. The guys're waitin'."

Kaho nodded, and followed Tasuki back to the bandits.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi...

Author notes: I can't believe how long this chapter is... I try to make 'em shorter, but NO! I make them even longer than the last. But I know you guys don't mind... I hope. Anywho, it's another chapter up! Whoo! I used the manga and an episode guide as reference for this... and half way through the chapter, it's the same storyline, sorry sweatdrop I wanted to use them as reference, but ended up doing a little more than that. My bad. So sue me... I don't mean that literally. There's going to be a LITTLE of the same thing in the next chapter, but I'll try to do my best. Thanks Kamehameha for proof-readin' this insanely long chapter.

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"Genrou! Kaho! What's goin' on?" Kouji asked them as they came back.

"Nothin' ta worry about Kouji. Just ran into some miser" Tasuki said, "Come on. Let's not use up any more time."

When Tasuki, Kaho, and the bandits arrived at the palace, they immediately split into their groups and went to their positions.

Tasuki tied the hook to the rope and waited for Yoshi, Michio, and Meiji to do their jobs. Tasuki, Kaho, and Kouji all heard a loud, low whistle and a bunch of screaming. After the whistling and screaming had stopped, loud footsteps were heard running towards the noise.

Tasuki twirled the hook and threw it over the wall. He tugged on the rope to make sure it was secure. After checking it, he handed the rope to Kaho.

"You first. Me an' Kouji'll be right behind you." Tasuki said.

Kaho nodded and began to climb the rope. When she reached the top, she looked left and right to see if there were any guards left. After she made sure the coast was clear, she jumped down. When she landed, she took a good look at the palace building. There wasn't much difference between the houses and the palace, only that the palace was much bigger, had an orange colored roof,and an exterior walkway connected to it with crimson coated wooden beams from the roof to the ground beside it.

'These guards are idiots... What kind of guards leaves their posts without leaving at least one to guard.' she thought.

"Tasuki. Kouji. The coast is clear." Kaho said.

After about a few minutes, Tasuki landed beside Kaho, followed by Kouji, who landed by Tasuki.

Once they were together, they quickly ran to the only door that was ahead of them. Tasuki peeked inside, but no one was there. Tasuki moved inside, into a hall and hid behind the corner. Tasuki peeked again and found no one. Tasuki made a hand signal to let Kouji and Kaho know it was clear.

In the throne room...

"Sir! Where is the emperor!" a soldier asked one of the royal advisors.

"I do not know. His majesty just said he was going for a walk," the advisor said. "What is the matter?"

"The palace is being invaded!" the soldier said.

"Everyone! Find his majesty at once! We must warn him of this invasion!" the advisor shouted to the rest of them.

Eventually, one advisor had found the emperor sitting on a short wall of the building's exterior walkway, looking blankly into space.

The advisor bowed at the emperor.

"Your majesty! I have urgent news!" the advisor said.

"What is it?" the emperor asked.

"The palace is being invaded. You must come with me to somewhere safer!" the advisor said.

"Do not think so little of your emperor's strength. When I see the intruders, I will deal with them myself." the emperor said.

Back with Kaho, Kouji, and Tasuki...

After going through many halls, around many corners, and opening many doors, Tasuki, Kouji, and Kaho eventually came across a long hallway with about ten doors on each side. All the doors they've come across only had handles and this hall of doors was no exception.

One by one, Tasuki opened the doors on the right. Unfortunately for him, the second door he opened was a room of five soldiers playing poker. Tasuki's pupils became tiny and his mouth a gape. He and the soldiers looked at each other for a few seconds. Then Tasuki quickly slammed the door.

Tasuki turned to Kaho.

"Kaho quick! Gimme yer sword!" Tasuki said.

"What? Why?" Kaho asked, confused, but eventually handed her sword over to Tasuki.

Tasuki took the sword from Kaho and wedged it into the floor by the foot of the door.

"Now run for it! There're soldiers in that room an' I doubt the sword's gonna last long!" he said and ran down the hall with Kouji and Kaho following him.

As they ran down the hall, they heard the door being knocked down and loud footsteps coming their way. Tasuki, Kouji, and Kaho eventually came upon two halls; one heading right and one heading left.

"There they are!" the lead guard said as he saw Tasuki's group.

"Shit! Kouji, go left! Me an' Kaho'll go right! We'll get the guards to split up so that they'll be easier to take care of." Tasuki said quickly.

Kouji nodded and ran to the left, while Tasuki and Kaho ran right.

At the end of the hall was nothing but a dead end and a door. Tasuki opened the door, only to find more guards. This time, there were seven guards in the room playing poker. Tasuki slammed the door and ran back. When he and Kaho were half way back, they saw three guards chasing them, with spears pointed out too.

Pretty soon, guards from both sides had them surrounded.

Tasuki and Kaho had their backs behind each other and their sides to the guards.

Kaho shut her eyes and prayed for someone to come help them.

' Someone! Please! Help!' she thought.

Suddenly, a red light emitted from her body. Kaho opened her eyes and brought up her hands. Her body was disappearing.

The soldiers took a step back in fear.

' What's happening to me!' she thought frantically.

Tasuki turned around and saw a transparent Kaho.

"Kaho! What's happenin' ta ya!" Tasuki shouted.

'This is like when I was being sucked into the book... I must be going back,' she thought. Then tightly shut her eyes, 'No! I don't want to go back to that hell hole!'

"STOP!" she shouted.

Sure enough, the red light went away. As soon as it was gone, the soldiers surrounded them again.

Kaho opened her eyes and brought up her hands. She was back to being solid.

"Kaho... What... happened back there?" Tasuki asked and then was captured.

The soldiers had captured Kaho too and brought the two down to a dungeon, then threw them both in a cell. Both of them landed with a thud on the ground.

Kaho sat up and looked around at her surroundings.

The dungeon was underground and the walls were made of stone. It was a little damp and moss was growing on the walls. The cell bars were made of wood.

'Hmmm... How cozy...' she thought sarcastically after surveying the dungeon.

Tasuki sat up and groaned.

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me! We're the only ones who got caught!" he shouted in frustration.

He looked over at Kaho, who seemed to be thinking about something.

"Hey Kaho. You alright?" he asked.

Kaho faced him and nodded.

"What was that light that was comin' outta yer body?" he asked.

Kaho took a moment to think about the light.

'It seems like I can go back and forth between worlds as long as the book's open.' she thought.

"I'm... I'm not sure" she lied, "Now be quiet and let me think."

"About what?" he asked.

"How to get out of here. What else?" Kaho said and went back to thinking.

Tasuki raised an eyebrow, then lay back onto the floor and turned his back to Kaho.

"Bossy woman." he muttered.

Back in the throne room...

The emperor was now sitting on his throne and talking to his advisors.

"Sire, why have you not yet put the intruders under execution?" the advisor asked.

"The guards say she wore strange clothes and a red light emitted from her body and she attempted to disappear," another advisor said. "It is possible that she may be a witch."

"I am curious as to know if that girl, might be the young lady of legends." said the emperor.

The advisors had surprised looks on their faces.

Back in the dungeon...

"Alright. I've got a plan, Tasuki. Listen up." Kaho said.

Tasuki walked over to Kaho and she whispered part of the plan to Tasuki.

"Try to act out the best you can," Kaho muttered and screamed, "HOLY CRAP! It's a snake! Guards! Guards! Aaaaah!"

"Hey guards! Come quick will ya! My friend's been bitten!" Tasuki shouted.

"That's great, Tasuki. Now, use your fangs to bite into my arm." Kaho whispered and held out her right arm.

Tasuki blinked.

"What! I can't do THAT!" Tasuki half shouted, half whispered.

Both of them could hear the guard's footsteps coming closer.

"Hurry up, Tasuki! I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend the rest of my days rotting in this stupid cell," Kaho whispered. "Don't worry about me. I've had worse injuries happen to me."

Tasuki frowned.

"Okay... I'm really sorry about this Kaho." Tasuki said and used his fangs to make two holes in Kaho's arm. Blood began to surface from her arm.

Not even a wince from Kaho.

"Good. Now, I'm trusting you act a little more." Kaho said, then grabbed her arm and pretended it was in pain.

Tasuki walked up to the wooden bars of the cell.

"Guards! Hurry it up! My friend's been bitten by a snake and I think she's poisoned!" Tasuki shouted.

A guard opened the door to the dungeon and looked into Kaho's and Tasuki's cell.

"What's the problem here?" the guard asked.

"My friend here was bitten by a snake and I think she's been poisoned." Tasuki said.

The guard took out a key and unlocked the door to their cell, then knelt down beside Kaho, who was still clutching her arm, pretending it was in pain.

"Let me take a look at it." the guard said.

"Thank you sir." Kaho said, then nodded.

Tasuki quietly took out his tessen and swiftly struck the guard on the back of his head.

Kaho let go of her arm and stood up.

"Well, now that that's been taken care of. Let's get going." Kaho said and began to walk out of the cell, but Tasuki grabbed her left arm.

"Hold on a minute, Kaho. We gotta fix up your arm first." Tasuki said.

Kaho turned her head and looked at Tasuki.

"It's just a minor wound. We don't have time to stand around. Let's go." Kaho insisted and tried to wriggle her arm free, but Tasuki tightened his grip.

"Minor my ass. Yer blood's drippin' on the floor. Ya can either lemme help ya or I can get cha ta stay in that cell and come back for ya later." said Tasuki.

Kaho turned her head back to face the cell's door.

"Why do you want to help me?" she asked in a serious tone.

"Why? Hmmm... good question." Tasuki said, then pondered it, "Well, do ya really need a reason to help people? I do what I do, 'cause I wanna, not 'cause I don't 'ave a choice. Ya always have more than one choice. I said I'd protect ya and that's what I'm gonna do."

Kaho turned around and gave a small smile to Tasuki.

"Better be a quick fix then. Don't want more guards comin' down here." Kaho said.

Tasuki took off his trench coat and ripped off a part of his shirt's sleeve, then tied it around Kaho's wound. After he was done, he put his trench coat back on.

"Come on. Let's go." Tasuki said to Kaho and both of them began to run out of the dungeon and back into the palace.

As Kaho and Tasuki ran through the palace, they came across another hall with two paths leading right and straight ahead.

After a moment of arguing about which way to go, they heard guards shouting from the path leading straight ahead.

"Hurry up! The prisoners have escaped! We must find them!" a guard shouted.

"Shit." they both muttered and ran down the hall to the right.

At the end of the hall, it seemed like a dead end, but Kaho spotted a door hidden in the shadows.

"Tasuki, in here." she whispered.

They both entered the room and closed the door behind them.

"There's nothing in this hall!" a guard shouted and walked back to the other guards.

The footsteps grew quieter and quieter until they could no longer be heard.

Tasuki lifted his ear from the door and walked towards where Kaho was. Tasuki and Kaho had run into a large, dark room.

"Hey Tasuki, what's this bird statue of?" Kaho asked.

Tasuki was now standing beside Kaho. Kaho was looking at the immense glittering gold statue that filled the back wall. A beautiful stately phoenix perched, surrounded by spires of clouds and beautiful gold ribbons of wind.

'I'm sure I've seen this bird before... but where?' she thought.

"That's the statue of Suzaku." Tasuki said.

"Suzaku?" Kaho asked.

"The ol' boss a' the Mt. Leikaku bandits told me about it. Suzaku is one a' the four guardian gods." Tasuki said and took a step forward,"The guardian god a' the east is called Seiryu, the guardian god a' the north is called Genbu, the guardian a' the west is Byakko, and the guardian god a' the south is called Suzaku. The Konan empire has Suzaku as its guardian god, so the other three gods protect and serve the empires at each a' the other directions..."

But as Tasuki was talking on and on about more of the gods and emperors, Kaho had noticed from the corner of her eye, that someone was watching them from the door.

When the person noticed that Kaho noticed them, they silently, but quickly closed the door and ran off.

Kaho attempted to follow the person, completely forgetting about Tasuki. She opened the door and ran off into the hall, back to the intersection. She could hear footsteps fading from the left hall, so she ran right.

"Well, anyway, we gotta get outta here. Right, Kaho?" Tasuki said and turned around, only to find no one else in the room, "Kaho? Kaho! Where the hell'd ya go!"

Back with Kaho...

Kaho ran through many halls, not having a clue where she was going. All she was doing was following her instincts. She lost the person she was following, so instincts were all she could rely on right now.

Eventually, she came across the palace kitchen. Across from her was another door, but this one led outside. All the cooks seemed to be busy making a big meal and had their backs turned to her. Kaho quietly slipped past them and out the door.

After leaving the kitchen, Kaho stepped into a wide courtyard.

"Damn it... lost 'im'." she thought.

"Hey Tasuki-" she said and turned around, only to find herself alone.

Kaho walked to the center of the courtyard and turned her head left and right.

"Where the hell is he..." she whispered, then she realized something herself, "Where the hell am **I**?"

Kaho looked around frantically. She couldn't remember which door she came out of and all the buildings looked the same.

She dropped to the ground in despair.

"I can't believe this! Even if the guards catch me again, I can kick their butts, no problem, but I'll become the most wanted girl this place'll ever know!" she cried.

Her head dropped in frustration.

"So much for a new and peaceful life." she muttered.

Suddenly, Kaho heard a small chuckle coming from behind her. Kaho stood up and turned around to see a beautiful woman perched on top of the short wall of the building's exterior walkway.

She had black hair, goldish hazel eyes and she wore a light purple cloak around her.

"Um... Hello." Kaho said nervously.

The woman brought her right hand up and used her index finger to point to the left.

"The door you came from is over there." the woman said and smiled.

"Oh. Uh... Thank you." Kaho said and started walking to the door, in the pointed direction.

"Wait a moment and chat, would you please?" the woman asked and hopped off the wall.

Kaho stopped and faced the woman.

"You have interesting eyes and hair color." the woman said.

The woman noticed that Kaho's calm eyes were now replaced with ones of hate and anger; Kaho had also rolled her hands into fists.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I mean no offense." the woman said apologetically.

Kaho looked at the woman and relaxed a little.

"Are you the girl the guards captured?" the woman asked.

Kaho froze on the spot.

"Um...no! You must be mistaking me for someone else. I'm just a random person passing by. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Kaho said and began to run to the door.

"Don't worry! Don't worry! The guards won't hear about you from me." she called after Kaho.

Kaho stopped and glanced back at the woman.

'She seems to have an honest face... but...' Kaho thought, still feeling uncertain.

The woman raised her right hand.

"You have my word." the woman said and lowered her hand.

Kaho walked back to where the woman was.

"I have a question to ask of you" the woman said and Kaho nodded. "A moment ago, why were your eyes filled with such hatred and anger?"

Kaho averted her eyes to the ground and paused a moment before speaking.

"Ever since I was five, anger and hatred is all I've ever known. It's all that people have ever let me know." Kaho said sadly.

"I'm sorry. It was none of my business," the woman said sincerely. "As my apology, since I have nothing to do, how about I give you a grand tour of the palace? The special, no-guard tour."

Kaho caught on to what she was saying and nodded.

Back with Tasuki...

Tasuki had found his way outside the palace and was running around looking for Kaho.

"Where'd that idiot go!" Tasuki muttered.

Tasuki ran up a small flight of stairs and stopped at an intersection with three paths. Tasuki looked down all of them and decided to go left. Tasuki skidded to a stop when two guards walked in front of him.

'Shit! Wrong way!' he thought, turning and running back.

"Hey! We've found the prisoner! We need more guards on him!" the guards shouted and ran after Tasuki.

Tasuki had arrived back at the intersection and he leapt down the stairs. As he landed on the ground, more guards came to cut off his escape. The guards, then joined forces and continued pursuing him.

Back with Kaho...

Kaho and the woman had arrived at another courtyard, on the other side of the palace.

"You need to find your friend?" the woman asked.

Kaho looked at the ground in guilt.

"If I left him, they'd probably kill him on the spot. If I had to go back to my world, I don't want another death on my conscience." she said.

"Did you say... your world? You're from another, seperate world?" the woman asked with interest, then caught the last thing she said.

'Another... death?' the woman thought with curiosity.

"Yes," Kaho replied. Realizing what she just said, she brought her head up to face the woman. "Sorry. I guess you must think I'm crazy."

'Good going, Kaho. She'll definitely take you to the guards now." she thought and dropped her head again.

"Not at all! I just **love** things like that!" the woman said.

Kaho brought her head up in surprise and blinked. She then felt a warm hand, gently holding her face.

"Why don't you stay here a while? I just know the emperor would never have you killed." the woman said with her face close to Kaho's. "My name is Hotohori, although I am usually called something else."

"Oh... My name's Kaho." Kaho said and averted her eyes to the ground, blushing slightly.

'Something's not right here. Why is my heart pounding over a woman?' she thought.

"Is something the matter?" Hotohori asked.

"N-no. I was just thinking how beautiful you are." Kaho answered.

"Everyone says that." Hotohori said and smiled.

They heard some voices coming towards them.

"Hurry! Hide in here!" Hotohori whispered and pushed Kaho into a nearby bush which was beside a short flight of stairs, and hid in the bush. They both watched as a large group of soldiers and some other people came into view.

Kaho's eyes widened.

'Tasuki! Kouji and the bandits! And... Tamahome? So that's who it was.' she thought.

"Spill it! Where's the girl!" the soldier shouted at Tasuki.

"How the hell should I know? She probably got away, while ya idiots were chasin' me!" Tasuki shouted.

"So! You were a decoy huh!" the soldier shouted and struck Tasuki on the head.

Kaho came out of the bushes and faced the soldiers.

"Let them go!" she shouted.

Everyone, including Hotohori, turned their heads at Kaho.

Tasuki, Kouji, and the bandits were surprised to see her there and their mouths gaped.

"Kaho! What the hell're ya doin' here! Why didn't cha run home!" Tasuki shouted.

"Well, if I left, they'd have undoubtedly killed you and I'd have one more burden to carry. Besides, think of this as thanks for your help." she said.

Two soldiers, holding a large axe and a large sledgehammer, ran at Kaho. But Kaho showed no reaction. As the soldiers brought their weapons back, about to strike, Kaho swiftly punched them in the faces, sending them falling to the ground.

Nobody seemed to be surprised but Tamahome and Hotohori.

Kaho got into her fighting stance.

"I'll take you all on if I have to." Kaho said.

Tasuki noticed that the grip of the soldier holding him had loosened. He also took note that the same soldier was holding a spear. Taking this opportunity, Tasuki wriggled loose from the soldier and back flipped over the spear to cut his ropes. Afterwards, Tasuki kicked the soldier in the face, as well as the ones holding Kouji, the bandits, and Tamahome.

After they were freed, they all ran to Kaho and stopped in front of her. Tasuki took the sword from Kouji's belt and cut his ropes. He then handed it to Kouji and Kouji cut the rest of the bandits' ropes. Then, they all took fighting stances.

"Didn't yer mother ever teach ya not ta hurt a girl?" Tasuki shouted and drew his tessen.

Tamahome turned his head and looked at Kaho.

"This'll be my apology for before and my thanks for rescuing me." he said and turned his attention back to the soldiers.

"Ya gotta go through us ta get ta her." said Kouji.

Kaho noticed that a glowing red symbol was on Tamahome's forehead and another symbol was on Tasuki's right arm.

Hotohori's eyes widened in surprise.

The soldiers that Kaho had knocked down had now gotten up and joined the other soldiers.

The soldier with the spear that Tasuki had kicked, wiped the blood away with the back of his hand.

"You bastard..." the soldier muttered and then shouted, "ATTACK!"

"STOP! Leave them be!"

The voice came from behind Kaho. Everyone turned and looked in the direction the voice came from.

"Hotohori?" Kaho whispered.

Hotohori now stood before them all.

"You are not permitted to touch them without my direct order!" Hotohori said sternly.

"Y-y-your majesty!" the soldiers shouted and bowed their heads.

Tamahome, Kaho, Tasuki, and the bandits were all shocked.

'We're in some serious shit now,' Tasuki thought, 'How're we gonna explain trying to rob 'im.'

"But... how could such a young and beautiful woman be the emperor?" Kaho muttered.

"Woman! His majesty is a man!" Tasuki half yelled, half whispered to Kaho.

A shocked and embarrassed expression appeared on Kaho's face. She closed her eyes and placed her face in her palm.

'Not another man...' she thought.

Hotohori dismissed the soldiers and led everyone else to the throne room.

Hotohori was now wearing long orange robes with a phoenix on the front and had his hair pulled up, wearing a red imperial cap on top. Only his bangs covered his forehead and his golden eyes.

Tamahome, Kaho, Tasuki and the bandits all sat on their knees, on the floor.

"My apologies. Trickery was not my intention. I simply wished to understand you better," Hotohori spoke, from the raised dais, "At least I've convinced my counselors that you are not evil spirits or a witch."

"So... You'll let us all go?" Kaho asked.

Hotohori nodded.

"Of course. You shall not be executed." he answered.

Kaho, Tasuki, and Kouji looked at each other with joy.

'Good. I can leave with no regrets.' Kaho thought happily.

"However, I have one request. Will you protect our empire, Priestess of Suzaku?" he asked.

Kaho looked around in confusion.

"I am referring to you, Kaho." Hotohori said. "At a time when the empire falls into disorder and is on the verge of collapse, a young lady would appear from another world, seeking the power of Suzaku. The moment she possesses the power of Suzaku, she will lead the empire to glory. The young lady, called the Priestess of Suzaku has finally arrived and she sits before us now."

"You... You've got it all wrong," Kaho said and squeezed her knee. "I've never been able to save anyone but myself."

Kaho's expression became sad as she remembered her parents' death. Her gaze dropped to the floor.

Tasuki glanced at her and he could tell she was sad.

"Don't be kiddin' yerself Kaho. Ya saved me an' my boys an' even Tamahome here." Tasuki said.

Kaho looked at Tasuki and he gave her a smile.

"You came seeking the powers of Suzaku, so that your wish would be granted, correct?" Hotohori said.

The words she read from the book came flying back into her mind. Then she realized something.

"Does the god, Suzaku, have the power to grant any wish...?" she muttered, "I could wish for happiness or the kids at school to stop picking on me or... I could wish my parents back to life."

Kaho stood up with a face of determination.

"I'll do it. I'll become this Priestess of Suzaku and I'll obtain the powers of Suzaku and grant my wishes." Kaho said.

Hotohori smiled and stood up.

"Everyone! Give this girl your respect! She is going to obtain the power of Suzaku and protect our empire!" Hotohori shouted.

Everyone bowed their heads to Kaho.

"Thank you," they said in unison and Kaho turned around, "Your eminence, Priestess of Suzaku."

Kaho turned and faced Hotohori again.

"But first, Hoto- I mean your majesty, I'd like to go home and retrieve something. I have to take care of some other business first." Kaho said.

Hotohori looked at Kaho and nodded.

"Very well." he said.

Suddenly, Kaho heard a voice.

"Hey! What's this book doing on the floor?" it said.

'Maybe it's someone in this room' Kaho thought and covered her ears, but she could still hear the voice. 'Nope... It's definitely in my head.'

"Oh no! It's probably the librarian!" she said out loud.

Everybody looked at her in confusion.

"Do you understand what she's saying?" Tamahome whispered to Tasuki.

"Nope. Ain't got a clue." Tasuki whispered back.

"Ya think she's gone nuts?" Kouji whispered to them both.

Then she heard pages of the book being flipped.

"Hey wait! I said wait! Are you even listening to me!" Kaho shouted to the ceiling.

Then she heard the book close. Kaho slapped her forehead.

'You gotta be kidding me.' she thought.

"Well, looks like I'm stuck here." she said.

But unknown to anyone, a mysterious person had been eavesdropping on the whole thing and silently ran off...


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own FY...

Author notes: LOOK! UP, UP IN THE SKY! Is it a bird! No! Is it a plane! No! IT'S ANOTHER CHAPTER! Dun, dun, dun. Whee! Chapter 6 already! Can you believe that? Apparently NONE of my characters are turning out the way I want them too. This chapter is shorter than the last, but it's still long enough. Ok, I'm just horrible at romance scenes, so if I write one and you think it's crap, gimme a break! I'm not used to writing them. Also, I only ever use the color crimson because that's the only red kind of color I know. If you guys have any others I'd really like to know. Thanks to Kamehameha for proof reading, though taking a heck of a long time to do so. It's probably new years by now! (Editor's Note: T.T I'm sorry!)

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"Nakago, sir. I have news from one of our spies in Konan." A man in black clothes said and kneeled on one knee, bowing his head.

"What is it?" Nakago asked.

"Apparently, Konan has found their 'Priestess of Suzaku', who goes by the name of Kaho." he said.

Nakago smiled.

"Good. Continue watching them and report back with any more news of the priestess." Nakago said.

The man bowed again and disappeared.

Nakago entered the throne room and bowed before the emperor, who was being pampered by women.

"Ah, Nakago. What is it that you have to report?" the emperor asked.

"Sire, Konan has found their Priestess of Suzaku." Nakago said.

"Nakago, you have been Kutou's general for quite a while now and you have led us to many victories. I will leave the Priestess of Suzaku in your hands." the emperor said.

Nakago bowed again.

"Very well, your majesty." Nakago said and then left the throne room. As he did so, he found Misora right beside the doors.

Nakago looked at her and she stood straight up.

"Um... Who is the Priestess of Suzaku exactly, Nakago?" Misora asked nervously.

"No one you need to concern yourself with, Lady Misora." Nakago said, "But I will say this much. Her name appears to be Kaho."

When Misora heard this, a surprised expression appeared on her face. Nakago noticed this and smiled.

"Do you know her?" he asked.

"Yeah, I know her. She isn't someone you need to worry about. Where I came from, she was just a pathetic girl." said Misora.

"Even so, I shall send one of my men to take care of her." said Nakago.

In Konan...

It was already nightfall and Hotohori had given them all rooms to sleep in. Kaho had gotten a room with creamy yellow walls and a pink floor. She had a large bed by the left wall, with light transparent purple drapes hanging from the poles and a medium sized desk beside the right wall.

Kaho had taken out her family picture from her backpack and sat on the end of her bed, with her backpack beside her. She looked at the picture.

Bringing her knees up to her chest, she sighed.

'I wish you guys were here... You always made me feel better somehow.' she thought while looking at the picture.

Kaho was startled from her thoughts as she felt a hand on her shoulder. By reflex, she turned around and punched whoever it was in the face. Unfortunately, it was Tasuki. He fell to the ground, clutching his nose. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear him open the door and come in.

"What the hell was that for!" he shouted.

"What the hell're you doing in my room!" Kaho shouted back.

"I came in ta cheer ya up! His majesty's worried about ya." he said, rubbing his nose.

Kaho sighed.

"So what're Tamahome and Kouji up to?" she asked.

"Last I saw of Tamahome, he was playin' poker with some guards an' he had money piled up to his knees. Kouji didn't feel too comfy in this huge place, so he and the others went back to Mt. Leikaku." said Tasuki and looked over her shoulder, "So, who're those people an' how come they ain't movin'?"

Kaho pointed to the kid in the center.

"It's just a picture. That's me when I was nine. That's my mom and that's my dad." Kaho said as she pointed to the woman on the right, then to the man on the left.

"Miss yer folks a lot huh?" Tasuki asked.

"Yeah..." Kaho said, sadly.

"Why didn't cha go home before, when the guards were chasin' me? Ya could've gone home an' seen yer folks then." Tasuki said.

"Not quite... They were... killed." Kaho said as she choked on the last word.

Tasuki looked at her with a sad expression on his face.

"I didn't know how to fight and I was too scared to even call for help. I let them die and all I could do… was cry." she said and brought her gaze up to the ceiling. "I had no friends, no other family members, and I was too old for an orphanage. So I was forced to take care of myself. Even before they died, people always treated me like I was some monster. Every injury that I've ever had, I feel like I deserved them..."

Kaho brought her gaze down to her knees.

"Sorry about blabbering on and on, Tasuki. I just needed to talk to somebody I guess. I feel a lot-" Kaho said before Tasuki pulled her into a hug.

"-better." she finished, her head against his chest.

"Ya shouldn't beat yerself up about their death. It wasn't yer fault that they were killed. There's nothin' ya can do ta change the past, but ya can still affect the future." he said reassuringly, "Ya got friends here. Tamahome, his highness, and I are your friends."

Kaho's eyes softened as she gave in to the warmth of his body.

They stayed like this for a little longer and then Tasuki thought of a question. Tasuki put his hands on her shoulders and lifted her up.

"Sorry to ask Kaho, but if your world was so unbearable, what did you want to go back for?" he asked.

Kaho shook her hand to let him know it was alright to ask.

"I wanted to go back for the necklace my mother gave me and I thought that I could live in this world, so I wanted to drop out of school." she said.

Tasuki thought about this for a minute.

"Well, I s'pose ya could ask Suzaku to get cha home," he said. "But I don't think ya even know how ta summon 'im, huh?"

"It seems like Hotohori knows a lot more about this stuff than we do." said Kaho, "I'll ask him about it tomorrow."

Tasuki stretched his arms and stood up.

"Well, it's gettin' pretty late. I should go back to my room an' sleep." he said.

Kaho nodded and walked with Tasuki to the door. Tasuki stepped into the hall and turned to leave.

"Um... Tasuki?" Kaho said.

Tasuki looked over his shoulder at Kaho.

"Thank you... for hearing me out." she said.

"No problem." he said and gave her a large smile.

"Hey guys!"

Both of them turned their heads to the left and saw Tamahome before them. He closed his eyes, then held up a long string of coins with square holes in the center of them and gave them a large, happy smile.

"Check out all the money I won!" he said, but when he opened his eyes, Tasuki was at the end of the hall on the right and Kaho had already gone back into her room and closed the door.

Tamahome stood for a moment and blinked.

"Time to go count my money!" he said and ran off to his own room.

The next morning, Kaho woke up with a small headache and felt a little feverish. She lifted her right hand and felt her forehead. It was indeed warmer than it was supposed to be.

'Just a tiny fever. Nothing to worry about.' she thought and brought her hand back down. Then she left her room to go see Hotohori and talk about how she'd obtain Suzaku's power.

She obviously didn't know where he was, so she asked a maid where he was and the maid gave her directions to the room he was in.

Along the way, she found Tasuki and Tamahome. Tasuki was running around with a coin in his hand that he took from Tamahome and Tamahome was trying to get it back.

Kaho cleared her throat to make herself noticed. Both of them stopped what they were doing and turned their heads to Kaho.

"Good morning you two." she said and smiled.

"Morning." they both said at once.

While Tasuki was distracted, Tamahome took the opportunity to snatch the coin from Tasuki's hand and punched him on the head.

"Why ya little...!" Tasuki said and grabbed Tamahome's face and started stretching it. Of course, Tamahome returned the gesture.

Kaho laughed at the both of them.

While still stretching each others' faces, they turned their heads to Kaho once again.

"Whath so thunny?" they both asked.

"Nothing." she said and smiled, "You guys wanna come with me to see Hotohori? I'm gonna ask him about Suzaku."

Tamahome and Tasuki looked at each other, released their faces and nodded to Kaho.

When they arrived at the doors of Hotohori's room, Kaho knocked.

"You may enter," came a voice.

Kaho, Tasuki, and Tamahome walked through the doors and into the room.

The room had crimson walls with large, canary yellow diamonds and a pink floor. The only things in the room was a large wooden desk beside the left wall, which Hotohori was sitting in front of, a vanity at the top right corner, and a small vase of roses on a small stand in the top left corner.

"Kaho! What brings you here? I have been caught up in some of my duties, so I'm sorry I couldn't spend any time with you." said Hotohori.

Hotohori had let his hair down and was now wearing a crimson robe with lime green and light purple stripes from the stomach, down.

Kaho shook her head.

"It's alright." she said, "I just wanted to ask you how exactly, I could obtain the powers of Suzaku."

"You've come at a good time. I was researching that in 'The Universe of the Four Gods'." he said and picked up a partially unrolled scroll from his desk.

'Speak of the devil.' Kaho thought.

"It is a book of prophecies that was given to the first emperor, Taiju (or Taiso), from Taiitsukun and has been handed to each emperor of Konan ever since." he explained, "In truth, the four gods are twenty-eight constellations, divided into the east, west, north, and south. Each quadrant has seven constellations. The southern seven constellations are called 'The Suzaku'."

Tamahome, Kaho, and Tasuki listened intently to Hotohori.

"The names of the seven constellations are Chichiri, Tamahome, Nuriko, Hotohori, Chiriko, Tasuki, and Mitsukake." said Hotohori.

"Hotohori, Tamahome, and Tasuki?" she asked.

"That's correct." he said, then using his right hand to hold the scroll, he used his left hand to remove a ruffle of his robe from the left side of his neck to reveal the Chinese character for "Hotohori" shining a bright crimson color.

Shocked expressions were on the three faces. Then, as if they were calling out to each other, the symbol on Tamahome's forehead and the symbol on Tasuki's arm appeared and also shone a bright crimson color.

"Tamahome, Tasuki, and I, as well as the rest of the Suzaku seven must protect the Priestess of Suzaku so that she can obtain her magical powers." he stated. "According to the scroll, the young lady who gathers the 'seven constellations of Suzaku' will have her every wish granted."

Kaho thought about this for a moment.

"So then... that means there are four other people who have signs appearing on their bodies." she said.

"Correct, and unless you can personally gather all seven, you will not be able to obtain the powers of Suzaku." said Hotohori.

'You gotta be kidding me.' she thought and slapped her forehead.

Kaho turned to Tamahome and Tasuki.

"Did you know about this Tamahome?" she whispered to him.

"Well, I knew my name came from a constellation, but who knew I was supposed to protect you." he whispered back.

Kaho turned her head to Tasuki.

"What about you, Tasuki? Did you know about this?" she whispered.

"Not really. I knew just about as much as Tamahome did. Never really understood why the ol' boss made such a fuss about my symbol, but I guess I do now." he whispered.

Then Kaho realized something and faced Hotohori again.

"Hotohori, how can I find the rest of the Suzaku seven?" she asked.

"The scroll gives a clue to each of the constellations. The fourth constellation is referred to by the characters gong and wu. The first one means palace and the second means fierce strength." said Hotohori, "So when we find the most valiant warrior in the palace, we'll have found the fourth of our seven constellations."

Hotohori led them all towards a large courtyard and had his advisors bring the finest warriors in the palace.

Tasuki sat cross-legged with his arms cross on the floor of the dais, Hotohori gracefully sat in his chair, Tamahome slouched on the steps and Kaho stood beside Hotohori.

One of Hotohori's advisors stood in front of them and bowed.

"Your majesty, your eminence, as instructed, we have selected the finest warriors in the palace." he spoke.

"Well done." said Hotohori.

Kaho took a step forward.

"Do any of you have a Chinese character that appears on your body?" she asked.

Silence was the only answer.

"None of them are the fourth warrior?" she asked, disappointed.

Tamahome rest his chin on one hand.

"It doesn't appear because the guy wants it to. He might not even know he's got it." he said in a self-assured tone. Then he jumped off the step with a grin and cracked his knuckles, "So let me give 'em a little test."

Tasuki stood up and walked off the dais to stand beside Tamahome.

"Lemme join in. If I don't do something soon, I'll die of boredom." said Tasuki and stretched his limbs. After he was finished stretching, he took out his tessen and patted it.

"Shouldn't take too long." he said with a wide grin.

Kaho knew what he was going to do and crossed her arms.

"Tasuki, if you burn them all, even before finding the fourth warrior, I'll kick your ass. You might accidentally kill him and you'll be in big trouble." she said.

Tasuki looked at her and pouted.

"Ya gotta take the fun outta everythin' don't cha?" he said, putting his tessen away.

"I try my best." Kaho said sarcastically.

Tamahome and Tasuki began walking towards the soldiers.

"Are you guys ready!" Tamahome shouted to them, then instantly leaped into the air, while Tasuki ran at them. Fists and feet went flying. In mere seconds, they were all soundly defeated.

Tamahome struck a dramatic pose and Tasuki had a large smile on his face and made a peace sign with his fingers.

Hotohori raised an eyebrow.

"Our purpose was not to allow you two to show off." Hotohori said dryly.

"Maybe they need somebody easier to fight. Let me try." Kaho said and uncrossed her arms, then walked down to Tasuki and Tamahome.

Tasuki laughed and patted her on the back.

"I doubt they'll do any better against you than they did against us." he said.

Hidden behind a large column of the palace, two meticulously dressed women watched the event before them in the courtyard.

"Lady Korin, let's go back." pleaded the maid in a whisper, "If someone finds us, we'll be scolded for being here."

"That's the Priestess of Suzaku everyone's been talking about?" the other woman asked her maid with disbelief in her voice.

"Yes." her maid answered.

Korin's eyes narrowed.

"Even though she's not an empress, she is close to the emperor." she said, then her gaze became fixed on Tasuki, who was looking at Kaho with amusement, "Who are those men beside her?"

"They are two of the people who protect the priestess. Celestial warriors of Suzaku. Lord Tamahome and Lord Tasuki." the maid whispered.

"Tasuki..." Korin echoed.

Kaho took the places of Tamahome and Tasuki in front of the soldiers, while they took places on the sidelines.

"Well? Come and attack. What're you waiting for?" asked Kaho as she took her fighting stance.

"Your eminence, we wouldn't dare harm you." one soldier spoke hesitantly.

Kaho raised an eyebrow.

'The only time I want someone to attack me and they don't.' she thought, irritated, "So, how am I gonna give them some motivation...'

Then an idea struck her head and she wore a mischievous grin.

"Is that so? Or are you all just cowardly because I'm from another world? You guys consider yourselves stronger than you actually are!" she shouted.

The soldiers began to murmur in dissent.

"That's right! You guys are nothing but cowards! Chickens! Hiding behind those beards and armors all this time!" Kaho shouted. The men were becoming more and more infuriated with each word she spoke.

"Why you little... no warrior would put up with such insults!" one guard snarled and clenched his fists.

Kaho looked upon the rows and rows of incensed male faces and smiled.

'Looks like it worked.' she thought happily.

Tamahome and Tasuki looked her in disbelief.

"What kind of girl is she!" Tamahome asked aloud.

Containing their anger no longer, the soldiers charged, brandishing weapons and baring teeth in furious snarls. Kaho decided that this was probably a good time to run.

"I don't think any one of them is the fourth warrior!" she shouted.

"Kaho! Quit playin' around an' do somethin'!" Tasuki shouted.

"Not yet! I think I'll play with them a little longer!" she shouted back and kept running.

Kaho dove for cover underneath the pagoda, with the enraged soldiers close behind. With a growl of feral anger, one soldier threw a heavy wooden mallet after Kaho. The weapon smashed into a column of the structure and the stone cracked.

'Phew. That thing could have hit me.' she thought.

Tamahome and Tasuki thundered after the soldiers. Since Tamahome was the first to start running, he was ahead of Tasuki.

"REKKA SHIEN!"

Tamahome looked over his shoulder and saw a large flame heading straight at him. He moved out of the way just in time and the flame hit the soldiers instead.

Hotohori and Tamahome had shocked expressions on their faces.

"What the hell was that!" Tamahome shouted and saw Tasuki run quickly ahead of him, holding the giant fan he called a tessen.

When Tamahome caught up to Tasuki, Tasuki was already giving the soldiers a lecture.

"That's what ya bastards get for tryin' ta hurt Kaho! Ain't yer mothers ever tell ya not ta be so serious against a girl!" Tasuki screamed.

"They're... not dead... are they?" asked Tamahome.

Tasuki stopped screaming and faced Tamahome.

"Nah. They're all still livin'. They're gonna be in pain for a few days though." replied Tasuki.

"Where did that fire come from?" Tamahome asked, still a little shocked.

"Well, what can I say? It's a magical, solid iron fan." Tasuki said and held up the tessen.

The column cracked even more and suddenly gave in. At the sudden boom, Tamahome and Tasuki whirled about to see the pagoda shaking apart, with Kaho still inside.

"Kaho! Get out of there!" Hotohori shouted, jumping out of his chair.

Tamahome and Tasuki ran for the girl, Tasuki in the lead this time. But before they could make it in time, the heavy ceiling crashed.

"KAHO!" Hotohori screamed, but he was drowned out by the sound of the roof's impact.

Tasuki and Tamahome looked over the fallen rubble and immediately started shifting some of it away.

"Hold on Kaho! We'll get cha outta there!" shouted Tasuki.

"Um... guys? I'm over here."

They turned their heads to the left and saw an arm waving around. When they walked around the rubble, they found Kaho lying down on her back and she seemed to be fine, but her right leg was caught in the rubble.

"Kaho! Are ya okay!" asked a worried Tasuki.

Kaho used her arms to sit up and gave a smile to Tasuki.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I tried to jump out, but... my leg got stuck in the process." she said.

Tamahome and Tasuki began to move the rubble around her leg. When all the rubble was moved, they could see that Kaho's leg was badly injured. The cloth that covered her leg, from the knee down, was damp with the dark stain of fresh blood.

Finally, Hotohori had arrived at the ruined pagoda and he knelt down beside Kaho.

"Kaho! Thank goodness you are safe." he said, relieved, "I'll have one of my healers take care of the wound on your leg."

When the healer came, he rolled up the pant sleeve up to her knee and then rummaged through his medical bag. What Tasuki, Tamahome, and Hotohori saw was breath taking, but not in the good way. All around her leg were small scars.

Kaho noticed the sad expressions on their faces and raised an eyebrow.

"Guys? What's the matter?" she asked and found that they were looking at the scars on her leg.

She softened her eyes and gave them a smile.

"It's alright." she said, "These are some of the scars I've gotten over the years. This is how people have treated me over the years."

Hotohori looked at her sadly.

"How... how could you have kept living like this? Why did you do nothing about it?" asked Hotohori.

"Because..." she began, "because... this is my apology, so to speak."

"Apology?" asked Tamahome.

Kaho noticed something coming out from a far distance. When she could see what it was, her face became serious.

"I'll talk to you about it later, but for now, you all need to MOVE!" she shouted.

Everybody turned their heads in the direction she was looking at and saw a giant boulder heading for them. Tamahome grabbed the healer and his bag, Tasuki picked up Kaho (bridal style). All of them jumped out of the way, just before the boulder hit them.

Tamahome put the healer and his bags down at a safe spot and came back to the others, who were quite a distance from the ruined pagoda and boulder.

"Where the hell did that thing come from!" Tasuki yelled, with Kaho leaning on him for support and standing on her good leg.

"I was the one who threw this boulder."

Everybody turned their heads to the boulder. From behind the boulder, emerged an incredibly tall, fat man with eyes like a snake's, brown hair and he wore a black cloak.

"Who are you? State your business here." Hotohori demanded.

"You don't need to know who I am. As for my business here, I'm here to take the Priestess of Suzaku's life." he said and took out a wooden straw from his cloak.

The mysterious man blew into the straw, but nothing seemed to happen. A moment after he blew through the straw, Tamahome, Hotohori, and Tasuki dropped to the ground.

Without Tasuki for Kaho to lean on, she fell to the ground along with him.

"Tasuki! What's wrong!" she asked with worry in her voice.

"I... dunno. My body just... went numb. I can't move." said Tasuki.

"You... you bastard. What did... what did you do to us?" Tamahome asked.

The mysterious figure chuckled.

"What I blew from this straw were darts. The darts have a special potion in them and when injected into the human body, the body becomes paralyzed for some time." he explained and placed the straw back into his cloak.

"Kaho... you must run. If something happens to you... all hope of saving Konan is lost." Hotohori said.

Kaho slowly, but steadily stood up in front of Tasuki.

"I won't. I won't run." she said in a serious tone.

"Don't be stupid! Listen to his majesty... Kaho!" yelled Tasuki.

"I can't just abandon you! You're the only friends I've ever had and I don't want to lose that..." she said.

"Strong words from a little girl," the man said, then picked up the pagoda roof and some of the columns that were broken. "Words that you'll regret!"

The man put the columns on the floor. Then using his right arm, he tossed the roof at Kaho, tip of the roof, head first. Then he picked up the other columns and threw them as well, moving side to side as he did so.

Kaho held out her hands in front of her and planted her feet into the ground.

There was no way she could dodge them. The roof was too low to the ground, so she couldn't duck under it. The columns were too close to each other on both sides of the roof, so if she were to run, the columns would hit her. She also had Tamahome, Hotohori, and Tasuki to think of. Even though they were close to each other, they were still in the roof's path and if she somehow managed to find a way to get past the columns and roof, the roof would hit them.

"Kaho!" the three shouted.

Before the roof hit, Kaho saw a blur of purple jump in front of her and catch the roof by the tip. After the columns made their impact into the ground, the mysterious person tossed the roof back with even more force, letting the roof accelerate much faster than the previous toss.

The cloaked man had no time to run, but fear overcame him as he turned his back to run. The tip of the roof struck him in the back and he was killed.

After he was killed, Tamahome, Hotohori, and Tasuki regained feeling in their bodies. Then they found the darts on them and took them out. The pressure Kaho was putting on her leg, finally took its toll and she fell to the ground. All three of them immediately gave their attention to Kaho.

"Kaho! Are ya alright!" Tasuki asked.

"Well, other than that guy scarin' the pants off of me and my leg killing me, I'm perfectly fine." she answered sarcastically and smiled.

Seeing that the danger was gone, the healer walked over to Kaho. He took out the materials he needed and began treating Kaho. He started by wiping off some blood with a damp cloth.

"Ow! Take it easy doc!" Kaho said.

Suddenly remembering the person who had thrown the roof with such strength and ease, Hotohori turned to see the person. He was looking at a woman with purple hair and pink eyes. She wore a crimson dress with orange sleeves and canary yellow scarf hanging around her arms.

"Are you an empirial consort from the inner seraglio?" Hotohori asked the woman.

"Yes." came her reply.

"The power you displayed a moment ago, could it be that you are..." Hotohori said, then trailing off.

"My name is Korin or-" the woman said, then pulled the pink-frilled collar of her robes aside, just enough to reveal a crimson symbol above her left breast, "Nuriko of the Suzaku seven."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own- I mean... I DON'T own Fushigi Yuugi. Yeah, that's what I meant (shifty eyes)

Author notes: I completely give up on trying to make a chapter less than eighteen pages. It's just not possible anymore. Uh oh... Exams coming up in a month. That means teachers are gonna assign crap loads of homework... and we'll have to... STUDY. THE HORROR! Although, I never study for more than a day... It's a habit... But I pass exams with flying colors anyway. Well! It's another chapter up and done... Have fun?

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While the healer was putting the bandages on Kaho's leg, Tasuki started a conversation with Tamahome.

When the healer finished bandaging her leg, Kaho steadily stood up and slowly walked towards Nuriko and Hotohori.

"So the fourth warrior's a woman, huh?" asked Kaho.

Hotohori and Nuriko turned their attention to the girl beside them.

"My name's Kaho. It's nice to meet you. Thanks for rescuing us before." Kaho said with a smile and held out her right hand.

Nuriko glanced at the offered hand, then stepped past Kaho.

"Hm?" Kaho said, confused, and lowered her hand.

Nuriko walked towards her unsuspecting target.

"The only one I wanted to rescue, " said Nuriko, "was this man."

Tasuki turned his head to see Nuriko looking at him. Tasuki turned his eyes towards Tamahome.

"Hey, Tamahome. There isn't someone else behind me she could be talkin' about, is there?" he whispered. Tamahome looked behind Tasuki and shook his head.

"Nope. 'Fraid not." Tamahome whispered back. A large smile appeared on his face, "You lucky dog, you. Don't you think it'd be better to stick with one woman, not two?"

Tasuki turned his head and grabbed Tamahome by the collar.

"What! I can't stand women! You take it--" he shouted in a whisper, but was cut short when Nuriko's hands reached out to from his face and turn his head to to her, then she elegantly kissed him on the lips.

Kaho and Hotohori gasped, while Tamahome snickered.

' Funny, I pictured it'd be Hotohori she would have wanted to rescue, considering he's the emperor." Kaho thought.

Nuriko parted her lips from Tasuki's and hugged him. Not liking the idea of a woman being this close to him when he had just met her, Tasuki tried to push her away.

"Will ya, 'push', cut it, 'push', out!" Tasuki screamed. His pushing didn't do any good. The woman's grip around him was just too strong.

Finally, Nuriko stopped hugging Tasuki and received a sigh of relief in return. A relief that was short lived, for Nuriko grabbed his right wrist with her right hand and began walking out of the courtyard, dragging Tasuki along with her.

"Tasuki-kins and I are gonna spend some quality time around the palace!" Nuriko shouted and used her left hand to wave good-bye.

Tasuki straightened his legs and planted his feet into the ground to try to stop Nuriko, but he ended up sliding along the floor instead. He turned his head to Kaho and Tamahome and wore a face of despair, then reached out with his left hand.

"Help me!" he cried, then was dragged out of sight.

Hotohori, Kaho, and Tamahome continued to watch the direction Tasuki left, until one of Hotohori's advisors came up to Hotohori and whispered something in his ear.

"Yes. Of course." Hotohori said to his advisor, then turned to Tamahome and Kaho, "If you two would excuse me, I have some matters to take care of."

He then walked out of the courtyard with his advisor.

"So Kaho, what do you think of Nuriko and Tasuki together?" Tamahome asked and turned to her.

Kaho scrunched up her face and turned her back to him.

"Who ever Tasuki likes is none of my concern." she answered.

Tamahome put his hands on his hips and wore a sly smile on his face.

"Not even a bit? Nuriko could take Tasuki away from you, you know." he said.

Kaho found a small twig beside her, then picked it up with her right hand and turned to Tamahome.

"One more word about them from you and this'll be your arm." she said in a dangerously low tone and snapped the twig with her hand, "and believe me, it'll be easier for me than you think."

Tamahome gulped.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to take care of something." Kaho said and started walking out of the courtyard.

When he thought she was outside hearing distance, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Note to self: Don't talk to jealous girls." he muttered and turned to leave, but a stone the size of a marshmallow (the large ones that you roast over a fire) was thrown at the back of his head.

He crouched down and held his head in pain.

"I heard that and I'm not jealous!" Kaho shouted and continued walking.

Still clutching his head, he turned his head to her direction.

"B-b-but... how did she..." he stuttered.

Kaho had returned to her room with a basin she picked up from the laundry room and had filled it with water. Kaho placed the basin in the middle of her room and a small stool in front of it. Kaho walked over to her backpack, which she had left on her bed, and began to rummage in it.

"I know I put them somewhere..." she muttered and took out her textbooks one bye one, until she found the plain gray, cotton sweat pants she was looking for, "Found 'em! Glad I kept them with me after gym."

Kaho took off the black, blood-stained pants she was wearing and lowered them into the basin, then pulled on her sweat pants and pulled up her pant sleeve just incase it started bleeding again. Kaho sat down on the stool and began washing the blood out of her pants.

"Finally! Got that stubborn stain out!" Kaho said with glee and held up her pants, "Couldn't find any soap in that stupid laundry room. How do the people here do it?"

It had taken Kaho the rest of the morning and a little bit into the afternoon to get the blood out of her pants and quite frankly, she was getting hungry. Feeling satisfied with her job, Kaho leaned back to admire it, but as she did, a sharp pain struck the wound on her leg.

Kaho scowled at her leg and sat up straight.

"Stupid leg..." she muttered and her mind began to wander. Eventually her thoughts wrapped around Nuriko.

'I don't think Nuriko likes me too much...' she thought as she remembered how Nuriko walked past her without shaking her hand or even giving a greeting. Then she remembered how she kissed Tasuki, 'What am I thinking! It's none of my business if they like each other.'

Kaho sighed.

'But she's a warrior of Suzaku and if I want to my parents back and to be with them at home again, I need all of the celestial warriors of Suzaku. I'll have to get along with her whether either of us like it or not.' she thought unhappily, 'I'll pay a visit to her room after I hang my pants up on the clothes line and grab a bite to eat.'

Suddenly, Tasuki slammed open Kaho's door, his face a mixture of anger and frustration.

"Kaho!" he yelled, then ran into her room and slammed the doors closed.

Kaho shut her eyes in frustration and crossed her arms.

'And here I was, thinking I could have a quiet, peaceful afternoon.' she thought, then reopened her eyes.

"Tasuki, how many more times do I have to tell you not to barge in like that? At least knock first!" she said angrily.

Tasuki ran over to Kaho with a look of desperateness and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Ya gotta hide me! Any minute now, Nuriko's gonna-" he said quickly, but was cut short when Kaho's doors slammed open again and a white sash sailed out from beyond the doorway and lassoed him around the ankles. Whoever it was on the other end of the sash gave a hard yank and Tasuki was pulled back a little before he hit the floor with a loud SMACK!

Kaho looked up from Tasuki to find Nuriko on the other end of the sash, gripping it victoriously.

"N-Nuriko?" Kaho asked.

"If it isn't Kaho! So sorry to intrude." Nuriko said gaily, then regarded her catch of the day, still laying face-down on the floor, with smug confidence, "This man is hesitant to be with me. Come, Tasuki-kins, we're leaving."

Nuriko turned around and exited Kaho's room, dragging Tasuki along with her.

' So this is what I'm gonna have to put up with?' Kaho thought.

After Kaho hung her pants up on the clothes line near the laundry room and dropped by the kitchen for a quick bite, she made her way to Nuriko's room.

' I can't believe I have to suck up to her.' she thought with distaste.

When Kaho arrived at Nuriko's room, she knocked on the doors.

"Come in." a voice called.

There wasn't much difference between Kaho's room and Nuriko's. Only difference was that there was a small vanity beside her bed and a lime green floor.

"Oh, it's you." Nuriko said flatly as Kaho walked in, "What do you want?"

"Let's get to the point shall we? I want to be your attendant." Kaho said, trying her best to ignore the struggling Tasuki, bound up to his shoulders in Nuriko's white sash and being pinned to the ground by her butt.

"Get off a' me!" he shouted and struggled some more.

"You want to be my attendant?" Nuriko asked, uncertain she heard right and ignoring Tasuki.

Kaho nodded.

"You can if you want." said Nuriko.

Kaho breathed a sigh of relief.

"But, you must never interfere in our relationship." Nuriko said, then got off of Tasuki and pulled him up to hug him.

Kaho showed no reaction.

"No problem. He seems to be having a lot of fun with you." she answered.

"What!" Tasuki shouted.

Nuriko let go of Tasuki and sat on the small stool in front of the vanity.

"Kaho, come help me with my hair." Nuriko called to her.

Kaho walked over to Nuriko and gathered up her long lavender tresses. The luxurious purple waves were heavy in Kaho's hands. Kaho began stroking her hair like a fine cat.

"You're hurting me! Don't pull so hard!" Nuriko yelled, then picked up a cup of water and threw the water in Kaho's face.

Kaho wiped some of the water off with her hands, but didn't say a word.

Walking outside of her room, Nuriko pointed at the floor with a sharp gesture.

"It's dusty out here. Clean it up. If you miss any spots, you won't get any dinner." Nuriko informed her and handed Kaho a cloth, then turned her back and walked away.

Kaho got on her hands and knees and began to clean the floor.

As Kaho made her halfway mark to the end of the hallway, behind her, Nuriko took out a dust pan and began to drop dust, effectively covering the floor with it.

"What! The floor is still dirty! No dinner for you!" Nuriko cried out as Kaho reached the end of the hallway.

Kaho turned around to look, but found a large table being thrown at her. Kaho fell onto her back with the weight of the table on top of her.

"Sorry! I lost my grip!" Nuriko yelled and walked back to Tasuki, who was watching by the doorway, "Tasuki-kins, forget the useless girl. Let's go have dinner."

"Quit pickin' on Kaho! Ya know, I just don't like- "Tasuki yelled to Nuriko, when he managed to stand up.

"It's alright Tasuki." Kaho interrupted and crawled out from under the table and brushed herself off, "Believe it or not, this is almost exactly what I've dealt with back home. It's just the objects and substances that are different."

Kaho turned her back to leave.

"As long as I can grant my wishes, I don't care what happens to me." she said and walked off.

"Kaho..." Tasuki muttered as he watched her leave.

"Come, Tasuki-kins. Ignore her." Nuriko said and dragged a protesting Tasuki to the dining room.

It was already sunset and Kaho had been walking around the palace to keep herself occupied. Kaho was walking through the covered path by the pond when she heard Nuriko calling her. Kaho turned around to see what she wanted.

"What do you want Nuriko?" she asked.

"Have you seen my Tasuki-kins? I can't find him anywhere." Nuriko answered and frowned.

"I haven't seen him since this afternoon." Kaho answered flatly.

Nuriko gave a sour look at Kaho, then brushed her aside and continued her search for Tasuki. Kaho went along her way as well.

While walking through one of the covered paths in the garden, Kaho heard a noise behind her. Something like fabric being scratched upon wood, or in this case, stone. Kaho turned around to see Tasuki still bound up in Nuriko's sash and crawling towards her like a caterpillar.

Kaho raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"Nuriko's been looking for you, Tasuki." she said.

"I know. I laid low 'til she was gone, then I snuck off. Now untie me could ya?" replied Tasuki.

Kaho uncrossed her arms and helped Tasuki out of the sash cocoon.

Kaho sat down against the short wall of the path.

"So how come you're not with Nuriko? You two seem to be getting along pretty well." Kaho asked.

Tasuki took a seat beside her and crossed his arms.

"Don't go gettin' any ideas. I'm just bein' nice 'cause she's one a' the warriors." he replied.

"I see." Kaho said and stood up, "Well, I'll see ya later."

"Hey, hold on a minute Kaho. Can't cha sit and talk for a little bit?" Tasuki asked.

"I think Nuriko has a thing for you and if she saw us together, she might get the wrong idea and have a fit." Kaho replied and began walking. After only a few steps, she felt a pain in her leg and fell down. Kaho sat up and looked at her leg.

' Darn leg...' she thought.

Tasuki walked over to Kaho and bent down beside her.

"How come ya fell?" he asked.

"It's nothing." Kaho answered quickly and tried to stand up again, but her leg began to protest and she fell back down.

"Yer' leg's bleedin' again." Tasuki said and took out some bandages and ointment from his trench coat, "I brought some bandages and ointment just incase. I always come prepared."

Kaho raised an eyebrow.

"I honestly think you worry too much Tasuki. A little blood loss isn't gonna kill me." she said.

"An' I don't think ya worry enough. Yer' blood's goin' through the bandages an' ya don't even give a damn." Tasuki said in a serious tone, "Now, hold still."

Kaho gave in and gave him a nod.

' If Nuriko sees us like this, I'm not gonna live to see another day. ' she thought and gave herself an awkward smile.

Tasuki finished adjusting Kaho's bandage and looked at her. He noticed her smile and raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" he asked.

Snapping back to her current situation, Kaho shook her head.

"Nothing." she answered.

Tasuki shrugged and stood up.

"Ya really gotta take care a' yerself better. I ain't gonna be around ta take care a' ya ferever." he said and crossed his arms.

Kaho smiled.

"You sound like my dad. He used to say the same thing a lot to me." she said.

"Great minds think alike." Tasuki said and gave a cocky smile.

"The problem is," Kaho said and grinned, "we're talking about your mind."

Tasuki stopped smiling and looked at Kaho with an angry expression.

"What's that supposed ta mean!" he shouted.

Kaho chuckled.

His shout was clearly audible to Nuriko, who was hiding behind a column of the covered walkway that stood at the base of the offshoot that led to where the pair were. Nuriko listened a moment more before she soundlessly slipped away.

Night had fallen and an infinite of stars shone down onto Suzaku's third celestial warrior. Nuriko was leaning over the railing outside her second story room, lost in the multitude of her own thoughts.

Nuriko sensed Kaho's approach.

"Kaho." Nuriko softly acknowledged when she stood next to her.

"What's the matter?" Kaho asked with curiosity, taking notice of the dullness in Nuriko's voice.

Nuriko stared down into the courtyard.

"When I was walking around the pond, west of the court, I lost one of these earrings." she answered and opened her right hand to show a glimmering stone that was surrounded by a band of gold.

Kaho stepped closer to get a better look at the bit of jewelry. Her eyes widened at the beauty of the earring.

"Ah, it's really pretty." Kaho said in awe.

"The jewel is called 'glow stone'. When I began serving at court, my mother presented these family treasures to me." Nuriko said, "The stones emit a light in the dark, so the best time to find a lost one is at night. The problem is that my maids are afraid of the dark, so they refuse to go."

"I'll try to find it for you." said Kaho.

Nuriko closed her hand around the earring and looked at Kaho.

"But-" she started.

"It was given to you by your mother and it's an important earring isn't it? I can relate to you in that way. Just leave it to me." Kaho said and turned to leave.

"Oh, thank you!" Nuriko said cheerfully, "As a reward, I promise to serve as one of the seven celestial warriors of Suzaku."

Kaho gave a silent nod and made her way to the pond.

When Kaho was gone, Nuriko gave a smug smile to herself.

Some other part in the palace...

Hotohori and two of his retainers were standing at the very place Kaho and Tasuki had been only a brief time before.

"What?" asked Hotohori.

"Your majesty, you are eighteen now. It is time for you to consider marriage." the first retainer said.

"Our public officials have gone to great trouble to gather beautiful women from all over the empire. Why do you ignore the women of the inner seraglio?" the other asked.

The first one addressed him again, speaking to Hotohori's back, "Yes, for what reason do you ignore them?"

Hotohori turned with a sly smile.

"Because I am more beautiful than they are." he answered and inwardly chuckled at the pair's reactions, "Just joking."

"Oh, you are?" the retainers said together and forced out a laugh.

Hotohori tilted back his head and gazed up at the shimmering stars.

"Should I not be concentrating on the state of the empire?" he asked them, then turned and walked down the path towards the palace, both retainers respectfully behind him.

"But..." one protested.

"How about that girl, Nuriko?" the other asked.

"Nonsense. She is one of the seven celestial warriors and as such, has been released from the seraglio to serve Kaho." said Hotohori as he stopped walking.

Hotohori lifted his gaze to the stars once more.

"Ever since childhood, I've imagined the face of my ideal woman." he said softly.

"Ideal woman?" they both asked.

Hotohori nodded and brought his gaze back to the path and was about to speak when he noticed a shadowy figure at the end of the path. When the figure walked into a ray of moonlight, he saw that it was Kaho.

"Kaho!" he called out to her.

Kaho turned her head to his direction, then waved a hello and walked over to him.

"Kaho, what are you doing out so late?" he asked.

"I was just on my way to do a favor for Nuriko." Kaho answered.

"Are you two getting along? I heard of her behavior from my servants." said Hotohori.

Kaho said nothing, but averted her eyes to her right.

"So it is true. Then I shall have to order her to behave. Nobody ignores the emperor's orders." he stated.

Kaho shook her head.

"No, it's alright." she said and turned to leave, "No matter how many orders you give a person, their feelings won't change unless the person themselves wants to change. I want to get along with Nuriko on my own. I better get going. See you later."

Hotohori watched her leave with amazement in his eyes.

Kaho walked through the shallow marsh of the pond.

' I wish I had a jacket with me. It's freezing out here.' she thought and rubbed her arms, 'It's so dark out... I can't see a thing.'

As Kaho took another step forward, a flock of birds exploded into the air, their wings beating into the night around her. Kaho whirled around, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

' Just birds...' she thought with relief and continued walking, but her mind was still focused on the scare she had and she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking.

' Son of a- !' she yelled in her mind after she tripped over something and went flying into the deep water.

Under the cold water, Kaho struggled to get the seaweed wrapped around her right leg off.

'Dammit! The seaweed's got me and I'm running out of air...!' she thought hopelessly. Her mind thought of the man who had helped her and who kept her company when she first came to this world. Her eyes squeezed shut.

"Tasuki...!" she burbled out.

In Tasuki's room...

"Kaho...?" Tasuki muttered as he came out of sleeping.

Tasuki left his room to go look for the girl.

"Damn. When did I drift off? What happened to Kaho?" he muttered to himself as he ran down a hall outside his room. He then spotted Tamahome around the corner.

"Hey! Tamahome!" he called out, "Have ya seen Kaho an' where ya been all day?"

"Hm? Nope. I've been in town doing some business all day, so I haven't seen her." he answered.

"Business?" Tasuki asked.

Tamahome nodded.

Flashback to the day with Tamahome

Tamahome was walking through the marketplace when a boy of about ten years of age bumped into him.

"Sorry." the boy said and ran off.

Tamahome raised his eyebrow and put his hands on his hips, but noticed that half the money he was carrying was gone. He then realized that the kid who bumped into him had pick pocketed him.

"What the! Why that little... That kid's gonna pay!" he muttered angrily and ran off to search for the kid.

It took him all day to find the boy. Trying to chase a kid through crowds and crowds of people wasn't as easy as he thought it'd be. When he had found the kid, he saw him with three other kids. He seemed to be the oldest and the only one taking care of them.

Tamahome decided to let the kid keep the money, seeing as the boy was a lot like him. The eldest of siblings, taking care of his family and raising money, or at least getting money in some way, just for them.

End flashback

Tamahome decided that Tasuki didn't need to know about his little incident.

"Well, good luck finding Kaho." he said and walked off.

Tasuki continued to look for Kaho. As he passed by Nuriko's room, he could hear her laughing about something and decided to listen in on her.

"That girl is a fool!" Nuriko said, happily admiring herself in the mirror, "She went to find a nonexistent earring in the dark. How stupid of her not to realize that I've never been able to leave the court until now, so I could never have been to the pond."

Nuriko took a sip of water from the cup on her table.

"She's probably freezing in the cold water right now!" Nuriko said in a victorious voice.

A slam echoed in the room. Nuriko slowly turned to stare into a pair of cold, amber eyes.

"Tasuki." she whispered.

"Is it true, what ya just said?" he asked in a low voice. A vision of Kaho sinking in the deep water flashed through his mind. He whirled about and ran, only to be jerked to a sudden halt. Tasuki whipped his head about.

"Let go a' me!" he shouted.

With only one hand clamped around his wrist, Nuriko held him captive.

"I'll never let go! Not so you can run to her!" she shouted.

"Kaho's tryin' 'er best just ta get along with ya! Can't ya see that!" he shouted.

"I don't like her! She's got you and the emperor wrapped around her little finger! I've been in the inner seraglio for a year and he's never cast a glance in my direction!" Nuriko shouted and paused for a breath and thought of how easily Kaho intruded upon her life, "Then she comes out of nowhere and is puffed up and hailed by everyone and his majesty just dotes one her? What's he find so attractive in that little twerp from another world!"

"So I deliberately went after you for revenge!" Nuriko said, baring her teeth.

"First of all, Nuriko."

Tasuki and Nuriko turned to see a drenched Kaho with her arms crossed, standing in the doorway.

"Kaho! Are ya alright!" Tasuki asked with concern.

"Men aren't exactly my thing." Kaho said and walked past Tasuki, ignoring his question. She stared up into Nuriko's eyes.

"What?" Nuriko asked arrogantly, "I'll never apologize to you. You were the one who was deceived, so that makes you the loser."

"I never expected an apology from you. The only reason I went was because you said your mother gave it to you. I suppose I'm just a sucker for that kind of stuff." replied Kaho.

"Your puffed up by everyone." said Nuriko.

"I know that." Kaho replied.

Nuriko clenched a fist.

"Don't make a fool of me!" Nuriko growled, her voice raising, "Why don't you get angry! Don't you care about others!"

Nuriko ended her sentence with a powerful slap to Kaho's cheek.

Kaho turned her head to face Nuriko again and looked at her as if the slap had no effect at all.

"There's no point in getting angry, if it'll only make you happy. Why should I care about others, when all they do is give me pain and suffering?" Kaho said in a serious tone.

After a pause, Kaho opened her right hand to reveal a smooth, pink stone.

"I couldn't find the earring, but I found this pretty stone." Kaho said softly and offered if up to Nuriko, who gazed down upon it with a face devoid of emotion.

"Here. I don't have any interest in men, so there's nothing going on between Hotohori and I." Kaho said and placed the stone in Nuriko's hand.

Nuriko's eyes began to slowly tremble.

"I'll go talk to Hotohori for you." Kaho said and turned to leave, "All I ask in return, is your cooperation. The sooner we can summon Suzaku, the sooner I'll be home and out of your hair."

Nuriko clenched her first around the stone and closed her eyes. A soft, painful sob escaped her lips. This was a good enough "okay" for Kaho, so she left Nuriko's room.

Tasuki watched her leave the room, looking a little sad at the mention of her going back to her world.

After Kaho changed out of her clothes and into a pink robe, she went straight to Hotohori's room.

Kaho knocked on his doors.

"You may enter." he answered.

Kaho entered his room and looked in awe at the large and luxurious room. It seemed like the walls were all the same color in all the rooms, but floors seemed to be different. The floor of his room was a light crimson color and a gold framed mirror was set on the wall on the right. A small vase of all sorts of flowers were perched on top of a stand beside the mirror.

She found him sitting on his bed and in a crimson robe with his hair tied down in a low ponytail.

"Kaho! What a pleasant surprise. What brings you here?" he asked delightedly and gestured for her to take a seat. The only spot to sit was beside him on the bed, but seeing as she didn't have any feelings for him, she thought it'd be okay to sit next to him.

"May I get you anything. Would you like some tea?" he offered.

"No, thank you." she answered and thought of how she could bring up the subject of Nuriko's feelings, "I just came in to talk to you about something. Um... well, I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything, but, I was wondering if you liked anyone."

Hotohori paused for a long moment before he spoke.

"Is there someone you care for?" he asked.

Kaho turned her head towards Hotohori.

"Me?" she asked, a little surprised, "No, no one. I just wanted to recommend someone for you."

Hotohori's face softened into a gentle smile.

"I already have someone in mind, someone I've cherished for a very long time." he answered.

"I don't mean to be nosy, but could I ask who it is? Is it someone from the inner seraglio?" Kaho asked.

"No, not from the inner seraglio." he calmly answered.

' Well, guess it's not Nuriko. She'll be disappointed when I tell her.' Kaho thought and was about to stand up and leave, when she felt Hotohori gently push her onto the mattress. Kaho gasped. She lay limp on her back as Hotohori hovered over her and filled her vision. His soft eyes gazed into hers.

Kaho's heart pounded inside her chest as Hotohori cupped her face with his right hand.

"Ever since I was a child, I've heard stories of the Priestess of Suzaku, who comes to us from another world. I hoped she would love me for who I am and not simply because of what I would become." he said softly, his eyes intent on Kaho, "Kaho, you're exactly how I imagined you'd be. No other woman holds any interest for me. I want to know everything about you."

Hotohori closed his eyes and his faced moved closer to Kaho's. Kaho was stunned by his sudden confession and their lips were mere millimeters apart. Their lips met for a brief moment, then as if sensing something, Hotohori parted their lips and picked up his sheathed sword from the table and walked over to the wall on the left.

' Wh-what's he doing?' Kaho thought as she sat up.

Done so quickly that Kaho couldn't see it, Hotohori unsheathed his sword and quickly sliced the mortar three times to reveal three eavesdroppers with their ears cupped so that they could hear every word.

'Tasuki! Nuriko! Tamahome!' Kaho thought and a shocked expression appeared on her face.

Busted, the three tried to play nonchalant.

"What are you doing out here?" Hotohori asked, his voice hard with anger.

All three of them stepped through the hole in the wall, all pretense forgotten.

"We came fer' Kaho, yer' majesty." answered Tasuki.

"While it is true that I have granted you access to my private apartments, perhaps you could use more discretion." Hotohori said as he sheathed his sword and placed it in his robe.

Tasuki looked up at Kaho who was still sitting on the bed. Kaho turned her gaze to the floor and stood up.

"H-Hotohori, I think it's time for me to return to my own room." Kaho said and tried to hurry past the emperor, but he caught her by her wrist.

"Kaho, I meant what I said. You said you want to return to your world, but, as soon as Suzaku arrives and this entire ordeal is over, I will make you my empress." Hotohori said with seriousness.

Shocked expressions came upon all their faces. Kaho turned to face Hotohori.

"You can't-" she said.

"Of course, It will not be by decree." Hotohori interrupted, "I'll make sure you fall in love with me."

Kaho stood up straight and turned her head to the doorway.

"I'm sorry Hotohori, but I can't accept your proposal." said Kaho.

More shocked faces came around.

' Who in their right mind would decline an emperor's proposal?' thought Nuriko, ' When she said she didn't have any interest in men, she really meant it!'

"You're very kind and generous, don't get me wrong. Everyone has a reason for the things they do and I have mind. Please understand, Hotohori." Kaho said softly.

Thinking that her words had gone through to him, Kaho attempted to walk away, but Hotohori kept a firm grip on her wrist. Kaho turned her head to face him.

"Hotohori?" she asked.

"Will you not even consider it? I have longed for the Priestess of Suzaku to love me for who I am," Hotohori said with sadness, "and to take away the loneliness that consumes my soul."

Tasuki, Tamahome, and Nuriko all looked at Hotohori in a new light. They hadn't even realized how lonely it could be in a palace. Women adored him simply for the chance to become empress and his advisors don't seem to care about him.

Kaho's eyes softened as she gazed upon the sadness on his face.

"I understand how you feel. I understand, more than anyone, how it feels to be lonely." Kaho said and placed her left hand over the hand that held her wrist.

"You say everyone has a reason for the things they do, correct? Then please, tell me why you will not be my empress?" Hotohori asked.

Kaho averted her eyes to her left.

"I can't tell you that." Kaho said sadly.

Hotohori let go of Kaho's wrist and she turned to leave.

"Even so, I will do my best to gain your love." Hotohori said with determination.

Kaho paused a moment, as if to contemplate something, then walked past Tasuki, Tamahome, and Nuriko and back to her own room.

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More Author notes: I had no idea what Hotohori's room looked like. Manga had no color, and I didn't have the episode for this, and the episode guide didn't have a picture of it, so I had to make stuff up. Just a bed, a mirror, and a couple of flowers does seem like a little too little for such a large room... But, I had to get her onto the bed SOME how! So, sorry about the lack of detail in there.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Own Fushigi Yuugi, I do not. You know, eventually I'll stop putting this thing up...

Author notes: It's that time of... uh... well, it's that time to update again! I'm beginning to think I'm losing my touch XD But hey, reviews are really supporting. If I didn't get a review at all, I'd think my story was crap and stop completely. Ya'll be proud of yourselves. Anyway, how long's it been since my last update? A week? Two weeks? Meh, the important thing is, is that I updated. This chapter's shorter than the last and it's shorter because if I stopped it at a later time in the plot, no doubt it would have reached more than thirty pages. Hope you like this chapter.

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The next day, Tasuki woke up at sunrise, feeling sort of sad and a little angry for some reason. He couldn't explain it. He never had this feeling before. After he ate something from the kitchen, he began to walk around the palace.

' What's this feelin' I'm gettin' an' why?' he wondered.

As he walked past the covered path in the garden he and Kaho were at yesterday, he remembered the chuckle that came from her mouth. It was the second time he had ever heard her chuckle, but, he noticed that both times, she was happy. Most of the time, she seemed to have a lot on her mind and always looked troubled.

Tasuki paused a moment in front of Hotohori's room and remembered what he had heard last night

_' I can't accept your proposal... Everyone has a reason for the things they do, and I have mine.'_

Kaho's words to Hotohori ran through Tasuki's mind.

Kaho. What was she to him? Was she just a friend? When he first met her at the edge of the forest by Mt. Reikaku, he thought she was just like any other girl, in his point of view; whiny, weak, manipulative, and always depending on others, but she proved to be none of those. She proved to be a girl who bared the pain of losing her parents and suffered the treatment of others, yet continued to live on. She relied on herself through thick and thin and somehow, came out fine.

Tasuki sighed.

Clearly, Kaho was more than a friend to him, but what exactly? Tasuki tilted his head back to look at the clear, blue sky.

' It's like when Reirei was around.' he thought.

"Hey! Tasuki!"

Suddenly brought out from his thoughts, Tasuki jumped up in surprise.

"What cha doing?"

Having calmed himself down, Tasuki turned around to see Tamahome smiling at his successful scare. Tasuki clenched a fist and punched Tamahome on the head.

"Don't scare me like that!" Tasuki shouted angrily.

"I just wanted to know what you were so lost in thought about." said Tamahome, "You were frowning about something and frowning doesn't suit you."

"None a' yer' business." answered Tasuki.

Tamahome shrugged.

"Come on. Let's go get lunch." Tamahome said, then grabbed Tasuki's arm and dragged him to the dining room.

When they arrived, they found Nuriko and Hotohori eating their lunches and sat down beside them to eat their own. Tasuki looked around the room, but didn't see Kaho anywhere.

' Come to think of it, I haven't seen 'er all mornin' neither.' he thought as he finished his food.

"Hey, Tamahome. Have ya seen Kaho at all this mornin'?" Tasuki asked him.

Tamahome paused for a long moment before he finally spoke.

"Nope. Sorry to say I haven't." he answered.

"She probably high-tailed it outta her 'cause she's afraid of me." Nuriko retorted snobbishly.

Tasuki poured some sake into a cup and gulped it down.

"As if..." he muttered.

"Settle down you two." said Hotohori, "I'm sure Kaho is fine. if she is not around the palace, she is most likely in her room. Go check up on her if you must, I shall be in the study if you need me."

After he finished speaking, he stood up and left.

"I'll go check up on 'er." Tasuki said and also left.

As Tasuki arrived in front of Kaho's room, he decided to knock on the doors this time, when he remembered the other times he entered without knocking. He knocked on the doors, but there was no response. He knocked again, but still nothing.

"Hey Kaho! Ya in there?" he shouted. No response.

Beginning to worry, Tasuki finally opened the doors and looked around the room. He found Kaho lying in bed and sleeping, but she didn't look well. Tasuki ran over and sat down beside her on the bed and felt her forehead. Her forehead felt incredibly warm and her cheeks had a bright, reddish hue to them. Tasuki gently lifted her right arm. Her arm was also warm and her hand felt dry.

Kaho woke up and slowly opened her eyes.

"Tasuki... what're.. you doin' here?" she asked in a whisper.

Taking noticed of the girl who was now awake, he gently held her right hand in his.

"Kaho, ya've gotten sick." Tasuki said gravely.

"It wasn't... this bad... yesterday.' she muttered, "I can't be sick... I've got to summon Suzaku."

Tasuki's eyes widened.

"Ya were sick when ya went inta the pond!" he shouted.

"Yeah..." she admitted and turned her face away from him, "I was handling it... I didn't want you guys to worry... yourselves silly over something... I could handle."

"Of course we'd be worried! All of us care about ya! Nuriko may not show it, but I'm sure she does too!" he shouted and ran over to the door, "I'll get Hotohori and the others. Take it easy 'til I'm back."

"No. I'm fine. I can... take care of it." Kaho said and struggled to sit up.

Tasuki walked back over to her and gently lowered her back onto the bed.

"Stay down. Ya need to rest. I'll just get the others and be right back okay?" he said and pulled the covers up, over her body.

"But-" she began.

"Just trust me okay?" he interrupted and ran out of the room.

As Tasuki ran out of her room, Tamahome and Nuriko were walking to Kaho's room and saw him leave in a hurry.

"Tasuki!" Tamahome called out.

Tasuki turned and ran over to them.

"What's the matter Tasuki-kins?" Nuriko asked, noticing the worry on his face.

"Kaho's got a fever. A bad one at that." Tasuki answered.

"A fever?" Tamahome asked, "How can we help?"

"Just make sure she stays lyin' down on her bed." said Tasuki, "I'll go an' get his majesty."

Tamahome and Nuriko nodded and Tasuki ran off.

When they entered Kaho's room, they found her already sleeping.

With Hotohori...

"Your highness." one of Hotohori's advisors said, "Lord Tasuki wishes to speak with you in regards to her eminence."

Hotohori looked up from the papers on his desk and became worried.

' Why would Tasuki want to talk to me about Kaho?' he wondered, ' Something must have happened.'

"Allow him in." Hotohori ordered.

When Tasuki appeared in front of him, Hotohori stood up.

"What is it? Has something happened to Kaho?" Hotohori asked with concern.

Tasuki nodded.

"She's got a high fever." said Tasuki, "She told me that she's had it since yesterday."

Hotohori became even more concerned.

"Why did she not inform us of this yesterday." he asked.

"She told me that she didn't want us to worry." Tasuki answered.

Hotohori breathed a heavy sigh. How could she have been sick and he had not noticed?

"Tasuki, please get my personal healer and bring him to Kaho's room. I believe he is in the garden looking for some herbs." said Hotohori.

Tasuki nodded and ran off to the garden.

When Hotohori arrived at Kaho's room, he found Tamahome sitting on a stool beside Kaho, and Nuriko standing beside him, both with concerned faces looking at Kaho.

"Tamahome. Nuriko. How is she doing?" Hotohori asked.

Tamahome stood up from the stool and let Hotohori sit there instead.

"She's not doing any better since we got here." Tamahome said sadly.

Hotohori gently held her right hand in both of his. She was sweating now, and her breaths came in gasps.

' Has she fallen ill because of the weight of the responsibility of being Priestess of Suzaku that I have placed on her?' he wondered.

Finally, Tasuki and Hotohori's healer had arrived.

"Is this the patient, your majesty?" the healer asked.

Hotohori turned his head to the healer and nodded. The healer immediately set up his bags and Hotohori moved aside, so that the healer could tend to Kaho. After examining her a little, he put some herbs in a bowl and began grinding them into a powder. When the herbs were fully grounded into a powder, he poured some water into the bowl, mixed it, then lifted Kaho's head and helped her drink the dark green liquid. After the liquid was gone, he rested her head back onto the pillow.

"What is her condition?" Hotohori asked his healer.

"Your majesty, her eminence seems very weak. She is exhausted both mentally and physically. She must have been under incredible stress and fatigue. I believe this condition has been building for a while. The medicine I gave her should help her recover more quickly. Physically she should recover, but mentally..." the healer said.

"Are ya sayin' we can't do anythin' !" Tasuki shouted.

Hotohori sighed.

"Thank you. As always, you have done a fine job." Hotohori said to the healer.

The healer bowed, then left the room.

Hotohori sat on the stool again and looked at Kaho with great concern. Kaho began to toss and turn in her sleep.

"Mom... dad..." she said quietly, "Come back... don't leave..."

The four warriors looked at her for a moment before she became silent again. Hotohori stood up.

"Everyone, please step outside with me a moment." he said and walked to the door.

"Yes." they all said and followed him.

"I don't know what to do... Kaho is only getting worse." Hotohori said gravely.

"Your majesty, if we could get her back to her own world, she might get better. Surely her world has medicine that would better help her." Nuriko suggested.

"Yes, perhaps." said Hotohori, "But how do we find a way to get her back to her world?"

A thought struck him and his face brightened.

"Taiitsukun!" he said aloud.

"Taiitsukun?" the four echoed.

"Yes. Taiitsukun is the one who provided 'The Universe of the Four Gods' to us. Surely that is the person who would know how to return Kaho to the other world." said Hotohori.

Now it was Tasuki's turn to become worried.

"But yer' majesty, ya've seen the scars she's got on her leg. She even told us that was how she was treated in her world. Is it really a good idea to send 'er back?" he asked.

Hotohori's face dulled for a moment and thought about what Tasuki said.

"You have a point Tasuki, but, we have no other choice. If she does not recover soon, I fear she will not recover at all." he said seriously.

Tasuki gave a silent nod.

Back with Kaho...

Kaho woke up and slowly opened her eyes. The ceiling of her bed spun around in circles. Kaho sat up and turned her head to the doors and heard some people talking.

' Must be Tasuki and the others.' she thought.

Nuriko, Tasuki, Tamahome, and Hotohori re-entered her room and found her sitting up in bed.

"How're you feelin' Kaho?" Nuriko asked.

Kaho raised an eyebrow.

"Just feeling a little dizzy, but I'm fine." she answered and received a smile from Nuriko, "Am I gonna die and you're not telling me?"

Everyone raised their eyebrows.

"No... What makes ya say that?" asked Tasuki.

Kaho crossed her arms.

"Nuriko's acting suspiciously nice. Who better to break bad news?" Kaho replied.

"What! Why you little...!" Nuriko said angrily and attempted to attack Kaho, but was held back by Tamahome and Tasuki. Hotohori chuckled inwardly.

"Don't worry yourself. We have found a way to return you back to your world." said Hotohori.

Kaho's eyes saddened.

"Back to... my world?" she asked slowly.

"Yes, we must go to where Taiitsukun dwells. The seven celestial warriors and the priestess must reach Mt. Taikyoku by their own powers." Hotohori said and sat down on the bed, next to Kaho, "The journey will be long, but I will be by your side, as will Tasuki, Tamahome, and Nuriko."

"But what about summoning Suzaku? We were supposed to find the seven-" said Kaho.

"No, your wellbeing comes first." Hotohori interrupted, "Forgive me, I placed too many demands on you."

Hotohori cupped her right cheek in his left hand.

"However, promise me one thing. After you go back to your own world and regain your health, you will return here. To my kingdom, and to me." Hotohori said and pulled her into an embrace, ignoring the watching audience behind him. Tasuki pouted, while Nuriko grew even more enraged.

Tasuki finally turned around and silently walked out of the room, followed by Nuriko and Tamahome. As he walked down the causeway, arms crossed, his mind was turning over the import of what he had again witnessed between Kaho and Hotohori.

Not being able to take it anymore, Nuriko grabbed a table from a nearby room and heaved it at him. The heavy wooden piece of furniture slammed full-length into his back, sending Tasuki face-first onto the floor. Tamahome watched with his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

"What's with the grief-stricken face!" Nuriko snarled above him.

Tasuki shoved the table off and leaped upwards, arms waving.

"Shaddup!" he yelled in her face, "It's none a' yer' business!"

Nuriko looked into his eyes and her face grew cocky.

"You love Kaho, don't you?" she asked teasingly.

Tasuki just stood their, sweat drop prominent. Deciding to join in, Tamahome smiled evilly, along with Nuriko, at his silence, a much better answer than any words.

" So, you're jealous of the emperor, huh?" said Tamahome.

Tasuki's expression became nasty and he turned away.

"I ain't jealous! I just met 'er a short time ago an' I can't stand women!" he insisted and began to walk away, "That's why I ain't jealous."

Nuriko and Tamahome let him leave, disbelief written on both their faces.

"Idiot." Nuriko muttered.

Tasuki walked around the corner of the building and leaned against the wall. He tilted his head back and studied the sky.

"I ain't jealous..." he muttered, but it bother him that Tamahome and Nuriko could very well be right.

Three days later...

Kaho and three of her warriors stood in the center of the palace courtyard, surrounded by servants and soldiers. It was early in the morning and everyone was bustling about, packing saddlebags and preparing for the upcoming journey to Mt. Taikyoku.

"Your majesty, you needn't accompany them." one of Hotohori's advisors stated.

"Now, now, if an emperor can't travel his own country, then how can he rule?" Hotohori said with a smile.

"But even dressed casually, your elegance cannot be hidden." the advisor argued.

Laughing, Hotohori turned and playfully pushed the other man's forehead with one finger.

"You speak the truth, so I shall not consider it flattery." Hotohori said and laughed again.

Kaho watched him and raised an eyebrow. Hotohori had changed from his emperial robes to a long crimson tunic with white sleeves, beige pants, and a navy blue sash around his waist. He had his hair tied in a low ponytail as well.

' I've never met a guy who's as much of a narcissist as he is.' she thought. Kaho felt someone tap her shoulder and turned around to see who it was. It was Tamahome. He had changed his blue tunic with yellow trim, for a dark shirt that had a sleeveless gray over tunic and around his waist was a red sash.

"Are you really well enough to go on this trip?" he asked her.

Kaho nodded.

"For the last time, yes. I'm fine. You guys gotta calm down." she answered, "Have you seen Tasuki around? Something seems to be bugging him lately."

Tamahome paused for a moment and thought.

"I think the last time I saw him was at the pond." answered Tamahome.

"Thanks." Kaho said and ran off to find Tasuki.

With Nuriko...

As her maids were making the final adjustments to her traveling robes in her room, Nuriko saw Kaho running by.

"Kaho!" she called out.

Kaho backtracked and entered Nuriko's room. Nuriko wore a pink dress with canary yellow sleeves, white pants, and a red sash around her waist.

"How're you feeling?" Nuriko asked.

"I'm feeling a lot better, thanks." said Kaho.

"Where were you going, running like that?" Nuriko asked.

"Well, we're gonna leave soon and I haven't seen Tasuki since I got up, so I figured I'd go look for him." said Kaho.

"Well, I guess you should be on your way. See you later." said Nuriko.

Kaho turned and waved goodbye, then continued running to the pond.

When she found him, he was lying on his back on the grassy bank of the pond. He wore another white shirt under his trench coat, with a black belt around his waist and navy blue pants. By the way he was looking at the sky absent-mindedly, she could tell something was on his mind.

"Tasuki." she said to get his attention," Come on. We're leaving soon."

Tasuki got up, then brushed himself off and walked with Kaho back to the courtyard.

"What were you thinking about back there?" she asked him as they walked.

"Nothing important." he answered. Kaho knew better, but decided not to keep asking if he didn't want to talk about it.

When they got back to Hotohori and the others, Hotohori gave his final orders to his retainers. Mounted on his horse, Kaho perched in the saddle, in front of him.

"Look after things during my absence." Hotohori addressed his advisors one last time.

The heavy palace doors swing open. Hotohori nudged his horse forward and they trotted forth into the city. Tamahome, Nuriko, and Tasuki followed on their own mounts. After hours and hours of horse-back riding, the five travelers camped for the night in a misty wood. Hotohori, Tamahome, and Tasuki sat on the ground, resting weary muscles.

A concealing distance away, Kaho leaned her forehead against a sturdy tree.

"The fever's back." she muttered and closed her eyes.

A shadow fell over her.

"Kaho." Nuriko playfully called.

Kaho looked over her shoulder.

"What is it Nuriko?" she asked.

"I'll bet you feel awful! Here's some advice. There's a hot spring a little deeper in the forest!" Nuriko whispered into her ear and pointed into the trees with an index finger.

"A hot spring?" Kaho asked.

"It's supposed to have magical healing powers. Take a dip. It might help you feel better!" Nuriko answered.

Kaho raised an eyebrow.

' I don't think she's trying to make me feel worse... If it'll help me feel better, why not?' she thought.

"Thanks Nuriko. Don't tell the guys about this okay?" Kaho asked, then waved goodbye and walked in the direction Nuriko had pointed.

After Kaho disappeared into the woods, Nuriko walked over to Tasuki, who was resting his head on his saddlebags and quietly snoring. She clamped a strong hand around his ankle and hauled him away, his head knocking against the rocks that conveniently appeared in the path.

Nuriko finally let go of his ankle as they arrived at the trees Kaho had gone through.

"What the hell're ya doin'!" Tasuki demanded as he lept to his feet, eyes filled with tears of pain.

Nuriko leaned close to him and smiled.

"I have a message from Kaho," she said, "'I'll be waiting for you at the springs in the forest.'"

"Why me!" he snarled.

Nuriko's hands wrapped around his throat and began to shake him for all he was worth.

"You don't want to hurt the poor girl's feelings now, do you?" Nuriko said and let go of Tasuki.

"Ciao!" she said, smiling and ran off.

Back with Kaho...

Kaho carefully made her way through the dense foliage of the darkening woods. Insects and birds sang around the girl, accompanying her journey. As she walked the last few steps, she spotted the spring that Nuriko had been talking about.

' So this is it, huh?' she thought, ' Hope this thing works. I don't want them to worry about me anymore.'

Kaho slipped out of her clothes and lowered herself into the water.

"The warm water is really relaxing." she said to herself, "I'm feeling better already."

Back with Tasuki...

Tasuki walked through the woods, his arms crossed across his chest.

"I ain't goin' 'cause Kaho asked me to. I'm just bored." he muttered to himself.

When Tasuki arrived at the spring, he looked around, but didn't see Kaho.

"Kaho?" he asked aloud.

Suddenly, Kaho came up from below the water, her back towards Tasuki. When she turned around, they stared at each other for a couple seconds.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" she screamed, blushing, then crossed her arms over her chest and went low enough into the water, so that it reached her shoulders, "What the hell are you doing here!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to- Nuriko said- !" he screamed, also blushing and desperately trying to cover his eyes.

"Nuriko." Kaho growled angrily," When I see that woman, I'll kill her!"

As if on cue, the sharp snaps of breaking wood cracked out into the air. Nuriko plummeted down from a tree on the pool's bank, landing with a painful thunk on the grass.

"Nuriko!" they both shouted, Kaho, in a more angry way. As soon as Nuriko stood up, Tasuki grasped Nuriko's collar and viciously shook her back and forth.

"Nuriko! Why the hell did ya set us up like that! That's the last time I ever trust ya fer' anythin' ever again!" Tasuki shouted.

"Nuriko... you're a... your'e a...!" Kaho shouted with her index finger pointing at Nuriko's chest.

Tasuki and Nuriko both looked down to where Kaho was pointing. Tasuki immediately let go and backed away to a tree to the right of him.

"Yer' a MAN!" he screamed, index finger pointing at Nuriko. Then a sudden realization struck him and he began to turn green.

"You're in love with Hotohori and you even kissed Tasuki!" Kaho said, still holding out her finger.

At Kaho's final word, Tasuki fell down, unconscious, into some bushes.

Turning his attention from the now, unconscious Tasuki, Nuriko regarded Kaho again.

"So I'm a man. Is there a problem with that?" Nuriko said, clutching the collar of his robes together.

Kaho grimaced.

' I guess it's safe to assume that all the warriors are men now.' she thought with slight dismay.

Somewhere on Mt. Taikyoku...

A broken, aged laughter accented the scene of Kaho and Nuriko on the bank, framed by the golden rim of a mirror. A dark figure floated before the mirror, sitting on a red cushion and surrounded by weightless, drifting scarves.

"The Priestess of Suzaku." the figure cackled," So you are attempting to reach the oracle, Taiitsukun? Be warned, you will not arrive so easily."

The figure laughed once more...

Back with Kaho and company...

Kaho was now fully dressed and was walking back to Hotohori and Tamahome with Tasuki and Nuriko. Nuriko had shaken Tasuki awake, but when he came to, he remembered what he discovered and fainted again. Kaho had gotten tired of waiting and decided to throw handfuls of water at his face instead. It worked too. After Tasuki was awake, Nuriko had convinced the both of them to keep his being a man, a secret.

"Where've you guys been?" Tamahome asked as they came back.

Kaho and Tasuki blushed and turned away from each other.

"No where." they both answered.

Tamahome looked at them both and decided to let it slide. After setting up their sleeping bags, they immediately drifted off to sleep.

_Kaho..._

It was pitch black and nothing was around. No sound, no shadows, no nothing.

"Mom?" Kaho asked and looked around.

_Kaho..._

"Dad?" She asked and turned around. Images of her mother and father appeared a distance from her.

_"We'll be waiting for you... at the base of Mt. Taikyoku..."_ her mother said and began to walk away with her father.

"Wait! Mom! Dad!" she shouted and reached out with her left hand.

Suddenly, Kaho jerked upright in her thin bed and realized what she just had.

' Just a dream...' she thought and wiped the sweat off her brows with the back of her hand, 'But what did it mean... It wasn't the nightmare I've been having... and my parents said they'd be waiting for me at Mt. Taikyoku's base...'

Tasuki suddenly sat up and rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes.

"Kaho, what's up? Ya look like ya've seen a ghost." Tasuki said quietly.

"It's nothing." she replied.

Tasuki frowned at her response.

"Kaho, it ain't 'nothin'' if ya wake up in the middle of the night with a pale face." he said seriously, "Just tell me what's-"

"I said it's nothing." she snapped. Her voice had a slight annoyance to it.

"Sorry Tasuki." she said in a calmer tone, "I just don't want you or the others to worry so much over me."

Tasuki flopped back down and turned his back towards her.

"Ya gotta trust us more, Kaho. We worry 'cause we care about you." said Tasuki, "Get some rest. It'll be another long day tomorrow."

Kaho looked at him a moment more before she lay back down.

'Do they really? Or is it just because I'm the Priestess of Suzaku?' she thought sadly and drifted back to sleep.

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More author notes: If you don't know who Reirei is, read Genrouden somewhere. She's an essential part in this story later on.


	9. Chapter 9

Author Notes: I told ya I'd stop putting the disclaimer up! (evil laugh). Updating one last time before exams are here and before bundles and bundles of science homework get thrown on me. It's all good. Um... that's all I have to say apparently XD. Oh yes, I changed Kaho's age slightly in the first chapter so that it'll fall into play for the tenth.

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When morning arose, they had packed up their bags and continued their journey to Mt. Taikyoku.

Along the way, they came upon a village in the afternoon and Hotohori had offered to treat them to a meal at a restaurant.

While they were at the restaurant, Kaho was busy contemplating about her dream and barely touched her food.

"Kaho."

Kaho snapped back to her senses and faced Tasuki.

"Somethin' wrong?" he asked, pointing his chopsticks at her, "Ya haven't touched yer' food."

"No. I'm just not really hungry." she answered.

Kaho looked at Tasuki and she could tell he didn't believe her.

"I'm fine. Really." she insisted.

"You should at least eat something to keep up your strength." said Nuriko.

Kaho was about to say something more, but Nuriko, Tasuki, and Tamahome all shot her glares.

"All right, all right." Kaho said, sweat drop prominent.

Only until Kaho started eating her rice did they resume eating their own lunches. After they finished their lunches, Kaho noticed that Hotohori wasn't around.

"Has anyone seen Hotohori?" Kaho asked.

"Nope." answered Tamahome.

"Come ta think of it, he was the first one finished his food an' he went out an' he's been gone a while." Tasuki pointed out.

"Well, if he's not back soon, Tamahome'll be the one to pay the bill." said Nuriko.

Realizing what Nuriko had just said and that he was the only other one of the group who always carried money, his eyes popped out.

"Go find him! And make it quick!" Tamahome whispered and pushed Kaho out the door when the man at the counter wasn't looking.

Kaho turned around as she stumbled outside the restaurant.

'But why me?' she thought, 'Isn't it clearly obvious that Nuriko should go? Since he's in love with Hotohori after.'

Seeing as she didn't have much of a choice, she decided to comply and went to go look for Hotohori. She found him sitting close to the edge of a grassy cliff behind the restaurant, gazing out over the valley and the purple mountains in the distant horizon. Kaho stepped near him and bent over with a smile.

"What're you doing out here, Hotohori?" she asked kindly.

"I simply do not normally have the leisure to view the landscape around me." Hotohori answered.

Kaho took a seat next to him and viewed the landscape as well.

"You're always so busy at the palace, huh?" said Kaho, "I know what you mean. It's nice to get away every now and then to admire the simple things in life."

Kaho rested her chine in her hand, still watching the landscape.

"Back in my world, I studied and worked, day and night. I wanted my mom and dad to be proud of me, where ever they were." said Kaho.

Hotohori's gaze left the mountains to stare at the grass before him.

"Your mother and father, hm?" he said in a soft and serious voice, "I was fourteen when I inherited the throne when my father passed away. The power struggle that followed was horrendous. In any case, my mother made sure I became emperor. You could say i was simply her puppet, but then she passed away and suddenly my world became virtually silent. i was surrounded by loyal retainers-my own people, but I learned how lonely, true solitude can be. I was like a bird in a cage."

With a great flutter of wings, three white doves soared past the pair and cliff, out over the valley. They vanished into the distance.

"You're free now, aren't you? You have the freedom to choose your path. You can pick up and take off, like you're doing now." she said and turned to him with a smile, "You're still young. You have your whole life to decide what you want to do."

Hotohori reached out his right arm and pulled Kaho against him, closing his eyes.

"You're such a kind girl. Always free and warm-hearted." he said softly and held her there, his grip and chest, warm and firm. Hotohori leaned his cheek against Kaho's soft hair, treasuring the moment for as long as he could

'I want to be with you forever, Kaho.' he thought.

Before Kaho could protest about her situation at the moment, the cracks of another breaking tree branch echoed out. Kaho blushed slightly and turned to see a furiuos and struggling Nuriko, barely restrained by Tasuki and Tamahome.

"Damn you, Kaho!" Nuriko screamed.

"What could have made Nuriko so upset?" asked Hotohori.

Tasuki's eyes blazed accusingly into Kaho's own. Kaho looked back at him for a moment, then turned away and gazed sadly into the valley.

On Mt. Taikyoku...

"Well, well. Shall we see if they can handle a test?" the dark figure said and turned around to face two other shadowed figures, "You two know what do do."

"It's been a long time since we've seen her." the first figure said.

"I certainly hope she won't hate us for this." the other said.

"I shall send you two down the mountain now. Are you ready?" the figure on the cushion asked.

The pair nodded. The figure chanted a few words and in the blink of an eye, the two that were standing before it, disappeared.

Back with Kaho and group...

Hotohori had paid the man at the restaurant and everyone had continued their journey to Mt. Taikyoku. It was late in the afternoon and they had come across a grassy path through a small forest. Kaho and Tasuki were walking ahead of the others and a thick fog was beginning to come down.

"Hey, Kaho. Slow down will ya? The fog is gettin' thicker, so don't go too far from me." said Tasuki.

"All right, all right. I'll come back." she grumbled. As she turned around to go back to Tasuki, she caught a glance of a blurry figure in the corner of her eye to the right of her. She stared at it a moment longer, trying to zoom in on it. When she could see the face clear enough, her eyes trembled and her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

'It wasn't a dream!' she thought happily.

The blurry figure turned and began to walk away. Kaho's face became panicked. She had seen her mother, but this time she wasn't in her dreams. Doubtful thoughts began to run through her mind.

' Was it just my imagination? Could it have been someone else?' she thought and paused a moment, 'No. I'd recognize her face anywhere.'

"Phew. I finally caught up ta-" Tasuki said, but when he got to where she was, she began to run in another direction, "Kaho! Wait! Where're ya goin'!"

Tasuki tried to run after her, but the fog became even thicker and he soon lost sight of her.

Kaho ran and ran, not sure where she was going, only following the blurry image of her mother through the forest. Finally, her mother stopped in a large clearing. As Kaho continued to run through through the trees, she could make out her father's figure and face beside her mother.

"Mom! Dad!" she cried.

Suddenly, a tree root jutted out from the ground, sending Kaho soaring to the ground. Kaho lay, unconscious, before her parents. Kaho's mother turned to her father with a sad face.

"I wish we didn't have to do this to her." she said sadly.

"I know." her father said gently and hugged his wife, "But we've got to. Otherwise, she'll never move on and she won't realize the people who care about her and the one who loves her."

Kaho's mother gave a silent nod, then both of them knelt down beside Kaho and placed their hands on her shoulders.

Back with Hotohori, Tamahome, and Nuriko...

Hotohori looked around the surroundings, but could only see fog.

"Don't you think something's odd, Nuriko?" he asked the woman beside him.

Nuriko appeared starry-eyed, hands clasped together most becomingly.

"Not at all. I think we're made for each other." she said happily.

"That is not to what I was referring." said Hotohori, "This much fog at noon is unnatural."

Tamahome and Nuriko looked around at the thick fog surrounding them.

"That's true. I get the feeling we've passed by this clearing before." said Tamahome.

"Yer' majesty!" Tasuki said as he appeared through the fog, his horse right behind him.

Hotohori looked at Tasuki, but noticed that his face was worried and Kaho was not with him.

"Tasuki! Where is Kaho?" he asked seriously.

"I lost 'er in the fog, yer' majesty!" Tasuki replied worriedly.

Back with Kaho...

When Kaho next awoke, she felt something warm and fabricy over her.

'A... blanket?' she thought.

Kaho opened her eyes and sat up in the bed she was in. She was in a room with a large wooden desk beside her bed, a brown carpet and white walls.There was also a closet partially opened in the left wall to show that it was full of clothes. The crimson door to the north of her opened and in came her father. Her father had brown eyes and short black hair. He wore a white dress shirt and brown pants with a black leather belt around his waist.

"Thank goodness. You're awake!" her father said happily and sat down on the bed, beside her.

"Dad? How're you still alive? Where am I and why does my head hurt?" she asked.

"Last time I checked, your mother and I worked to put food on the table." he said and chuckled, "You must've been dreaming. Some kids from your school knocked you out cold and you nearly missed your birthday! Of course, I gave them a firm talking to. Happy fifteenth birthday, honey!"

Kaho's eyes widened. She felt as though something bad was going to happen on her birthday, but something kept her from remembering what exactly.

'Was it really just a dream?' she wondered and looked at her left hand and right arm. Even the scars from Misora and Tasuki were gone, 'It probably was. How else could my mom and dad be here. It's even my fifteenth birthday.'

Kaho's dad patted her knee and stood up.

"It's already three PM, so you just missed school." her father said and sighed at her reaction at the mention of school, "I know you don't like it, but it's the best school your mother and I could afford. There'll be some food on the table when you're down."

He then opened the door and walked out.

'I'm glad they're not really dead.' she thought happily, then got dressed into a pair of dark blue jeans, a plain white T-shirt and a light purple vest. She hadn't dyed the tips of her hair red yet, so her hair was just black. After Kaho was finished dressing, she walked out the door and walked down the stairs to the dining room. Her house was two stories high, with bedrooms on the top and the kitchen and living room on the bottom.

As she walked through the kitchen, her mother turned around from the stove and hugged her tightly. Her mother had long brown hair tied in a ponytail that reached her waist and blue eyes. She was wearing a white shirt, decorated with pink roses all over, baby blue jeans and a pink apron.

"Kaho! You're awake! I was so worried about you!" said her mother, "When your father told me the good news, I was overjoyed."

Kaho gasped from the lack of oxygen. Apparently, there can be such a thing as too much hugging.

"Mom...! I still need air to breathe...!" Kaho gasped out and the grip around her was released. Her mother looked at her and smiled.

"Sorry, honey. It's just so good to see you up again." her mother said happily, "I'm sorry we don't have a birthday cake for you this year, Kaho. But your feather and I thought we could go to the movies, as a family."

"Really? What movie?" Kaho asked.

"Well, since it's your birthday, you can choose when we get there." said her mother.

Kaho smiled.

"Thanks, mom!" said Kaho.

"There's a bowl of food for you on the table. I made your favorite; pork fried rice and spring rolls." said her mother.

Kaho put on a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"I'll be sure to eat every last bit of it." Kaho said and went to the table to eat her food. When she finished eating it all, she walked through the living room and to the door.

"I'm gonna go pick up the homework I've missed from school, okay?" Kaho called out.

From his seat on the couch in the living room, her father turned around to face her.

"Don't take too long, Kaho. We'll go to the movies when you come back." he said.

Kaho nodded, then opened the door and left. After she was gone, her father stood up and walked over to her mother.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Her mother took a deep breath, then nodded.

Back with Kaho...

It took Kaho about a half hour to get to her school. When she entered her school through the side doors, she went to each of her teachers and picked up the work she missed. Surprisingly, she didn't have that much. As she exited through the front of the school, she saw Misora, standing at the school's gates, with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face. Misora was wearing a plain white tank top and a pink skirt.

"So I did see you go in." said Misora, "Because it's your birthday, little miss vampire, I won't do anything to you today, but I did leave you a present. You'll get it soon."

Misora gave a conniving smile, then turned around and walked off. A gleam of red from her face was caught as she turned. Kaho waited a moment longer, before going back home, to ponder what Misora just said.

' Something's not right. Did her eyes just glow red? Even if it was just for half a second, that's not something eyes normally do.' Kaho thought.

As she walked back to her house, she began to think about her parents. Something didn't seem right with them either. Kaho didn't know what, but something inside her was telling her something was wrong.

'Maybe I'm just paranoid.' she thought and shrugged it off.

"I'm home!" she called out as she walked through the front door of her house.

"Welcome back, honey. Do you have a lot of homework?" her mother asked from the living room.

Kaho walked into the living room and stood behind her mother, who was sitting on the couch.

"No, not much." Kaho answered, "Where's dad? I'll just get my jacket and we can get going to the movies."

"Your father's in the garage, changing the car tires. I'll go get him while you get your coat." her mother said and stood up, then walked to the door.

Kaho ran up the stairs to her room and go her puffy, winter jacket. Her jacket had a zipper and a hoodie on the back and it was black. It took her mother and father at least ten to fifteen minutes to get themselves ready. Kaho and her parents got into the car and began driving to the theatre. Since it was winter and it was already five-thirty, the sun was already setting and the sky was getting darker.

A couple of hours later...

Kaho and her parents had finished watching the movie and were walking out of the movie theatre. Kaho noticed that her shoes' laces had become undone.

"I'll catch up in a minute." Kaho said and lifted her shoe on one of the columns in front of the theatre.

Her parents nodded and continued walking. Suddenly, something was shot at the column Kaho was behind. Kaho whirled around to see a man dressed in a black cloak, holding out a gun in front of her parents. What ever was blocking her from remembering this day was now gone and memories of her birthday came flashing back to her. As she remembered that he was the man who killed her parents, she broke out in a run to her parents. As she stopped in front of them, she held out her arms to her sides. She felt two hands grabbing her by the arms. Kaho looked behind her shoulder to see that it was her parents holding her. Something was different about them. Their eyes were glowing a bright scarlet color and they acted as if they wanted to... kill her.

"Mom! Dad! What's wrong! We need to run!" Kaho shouted in a panic.

"It's no good, Priestess of Suzaku." the man in front of her said, still holding out his gun.

Kaho turned her head towards him and her eyes widened. Thoughts ran frantically through her mind.

'How did he know about my dream! Who is he!' she thought.

The man let out a sinister laugh.

"I have placed these two under my spell. You see, my spell digs deep into the darkest corners of the heart and releases the person's innermost feelings." the man explained.

Kaho's expression suddenly became pained and her arms slackened.

' This is... how they truly feel about me...?' she thought sadly, 'The parents I thought who loved me were just lies!'

Sensing the confusion and despair in her, the man released her, knowing that she would not run away. He pointed the gun at her and was about to shoot when she held up her arms again and wore a face of determination.

"Even if it's how they truly feel about me... I have no right to complain. They gave me a roof to sleep under and I survived because of them. If you want to kill me, go ahead, but you have to leave my parents alone." said Kaho.

The man smirked.

"No problem. I was sent to kill just you, anyway." he said, "I'll make your death as quick as possible."

The cloaked man slowly began to pull the trigger on the gun, but Kaho kept a serious face.

With Tasuki and group...

Tasuki, Tamahome, Hotohori, and Nuriko continued to walk through the dense fog. The forest was unearthly silent and it gave them an ominous feeling. They had been searching for Kaho for what seemed like hours, but had no luck yet. Every second that passed by, they became more and more worried.

"Kaho! Can ya hear me?" Tasuki shouted.

"We're getting no where searching for her in this fog." complained Nuriko.

Tasuki looked at Nuriko over his left shoulder.

"We can't give up on 'er now!" he shouted.

As Tasuki moved to turn his head back to the path before him, he spotted a narrow shadow, horizontally laid out through the shroud of mist covering the trees. The shadow was too narrow to be a fallen tree and he doubted that any boulder would be like that.

Tasuki stopped walking and pointed in the direction of the shadow.

"Over there!" he said, "I think it's Kaho!"

Tasuki began to run over to the shadow as the others were turning their heads to look. When they saw what Tasuki was running towards, their eyes widened and soon followed.

As Tasuki arrived at the large clearing, the figure came into focus. It was indeed Kaho he had spotted. She was lying on the ground, unconscious, and her right cheek had been grazed. As he walked towards her, he stumbled over the root that was jutting out of the ground.

"Tasuki!"

Tasuki looked over his shoulder to see Nuriko, Tamahome, and Hotohori running towards him.

"Are you injured, Tasuki?" Hotohori asked, then noticed the unconscious girl on the ground, "Kaho! Tasuki, what happened to her?"

Tasuki turned his face back to Kaho.

"When I got here, she was already unconscious. I think she tripped over the root behind us, which pretty much explains the graze on 'er cheek." he answered.

Tasuki continued to walk over to Kaho and knelt down beside her. When he touched her shoulder, a bright, white light emitted from her and enveloped them all. Tasuki covered his eyes from the brightness.

When he next uncovered his eyes, the trees had turned into unfamiliar buildings and even though it was night, the lights that were lined up along the streets made it so that everything was visible.

"Where are we?" asked Nuriko.

"What was that light?" asked Tamahome.

While still taking in all the surroundings, Tasuki turned around to see Kaho standing up with her arms out, in front of a man and a woman, and another man in a black cloak with some sort of weapon pointed at her. Tasuki could tell that the man in the black was about to fire by the look in his eye and the slow movement of the trigger on the weapon. Tasuki stood up and ran towards her as fast as he could.

"Kaho!" he shouted.

Tamahome, Nuriko, and Hotohori turned their heads around and saw Kaho and the situation she was in. Almost simultaneously, all of them broke out in a run, right after Tasuki.

Kaho had heard a voice call her name, but she did not turn her head to see who it was. Her first priority was to protect her parents.

Finally, the trigger was pulled and a bullet was sent flying towards her. Shortly after the first bullet, the pulled the trigger again, sending another bullet towards her. Kaho braced herself for the pain. But instead, she gasped as Tasuki dived at her, sending the both of them towards the ground. Instead of the bullets hitting her, they hit her parents.

Kaho sat up and stared at her parents, who were now on the ground, dead. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Kaho! Are ya all right!" asked Tasuki.

"Mom...? Dad...?" Kaho said, her voice quivering.

Tasuki's eyes widened. He looked at the dead man and woman, then back at her. He finally remembered where he had seen the two before.

"Kaho.. I... I'm so sorry." Tasuki said in a quiet voice.

Tamahome, Nuriko, and Hotohori had caught up with them and took fighting stances in front of them.

"Tasuki. Kaho. Are you hurt?" Hotohori asked, his sword held out in front of him.

"I'm fine, but Kaho..." said Tasuki.

Hotohori looked over his shoulder at Kaho. Kaho was sitting on her knees, eyes and jaw clenched together and her fists, trembling.

"Kaho... what-" said Hotohori.

"So you four are of the Suzaku seven? Out of the way." the cloaked man interrupted.

Hotohori turned his attention back to him.

"Are you another assassin sent to kill the Priestess of Suzaku?" Hotohori asked angrily.

The man chuckled.

"I am. I have been ordered to kill her, and anyone who gets in the way." he answered and pointed the gun at Hotohori, "I will ask you once more. If you wish to continue living, you will move out of the way."

Hotohori, Nuriko, and Tamahome stood their ground.

"Very well." the man said, and pulled the gun's trigger three times, sending a bullet to each of them.

"Kaho!" Tasuki screamed.

Before, Hotohori, Nuriko, and Tamahome knew it, Kaho was standing in front of them with her arms out to her sides. Kaho fell to the ground as bullet after bullet was shot into her sides.

The cloaked man gave an evil laugh.

"Now the foolish girl can join her mother and father in death!" he said and laughed again.

When he placed the gun in his cloak and turned to leave, he found Tasuki in front of him. Tasuki's face was a mixture of rage and sorrow.

"Yer' not goin' anywhere." he growled.

"Speedy one of the group, huh?" the man said and drew his gun from his cloak, but it was quickly swatted out of his hand by Tasuki's tessen.

"What're ya gonna do without yer' weapon now?" Tasuki asked mockingly.

The man smirked.

"You think that was the only one?" he said and suddenly, his cloak flared open to reveal, at least, twenty more guns underneath, "I suppose I should kill you all before I go."

Tasuki quickly rolled out of the way as the cloaked man grabbed two guns and began firing at him. Tasuki rolled behind the man and ran as fast as he could back to Hotohori and the others. When he was in front of them, he quickly turned around.

"REKKA SHIEN!" he shouted and turned all the bullets coming his way, into ashed cinders.

"Yer' highness, while I've got this bastard distracted, I need ya ta go behind and attack 'im. Nuriko, I need ya to deal the finishin' blow." he whispered to them, "Tamahome, I need you... to look after Kaho."

Hotohori, Nuriko, and Tamahome nodded their heads.

"Mahari-ku, maha-rita, yamubara, lekka shien!" Tasuki chanted, then flames grew tall and encircled the cloaked man, making it so that he could see nothing but fire all around him.

"You can't keep this fire up forever!" the man shouted over the roar of the flames.

Sure enough, the man was correct and the flames began to descend. When the flames had died out enough, he lifted the guns and was about to start shooting again, when a sword had stabbed him through the back.

Hotohori retracted his sword and jumped back.

The cloaked man slowly turned around and was about to shoot one last bullet at Hotohori, but a tree suddenly appeared from above and landed directly on the cloaked man, ending his life. Nuriko lowered the single arm she had used to toss the tree and dusted her hands off with a sniff.

Hotohori turned his attention to Tasuki, who was still standing with his tessen held low, and panting.

"Tasuki, are you all right?" Hotohori asked.

Tasuki grinned at Hotohori.

"I'm fine. Just tired." he answered and placed the tessen back on his back, "Yer' pretty handy with a sword, yer' majesty."

"You weren't bad yourself." said Hotohori.

Hotohori, Nuriko, and Tasuki walked back over to Kaho and Tamahome. Hotohori and Tasuki knelt down beside them, while Nuriko stood.

"Kaho." Hotohori said with fear.

"She jumped out in front of us to save us." Nuriko said sadly.

Tasuki cradled her in his arms and leaned closer to the girl's face.

"Kaho!" he shouted worriedly.

"Kaho! Please! Open your eyes!" Hotohori shouted.

The girl did not respond.

"Kaho!" Tasuki shouted again.

On Mt. Taikyoku...

The instigator of Kaho and the four warriors' ordeal watched in the mirror.

"I've never seen a girl like this one before!" it said with admiration.

In Kaho's mind...

Kaho floated through the empty darkness of her mind. Kaho's eyes slowly opened, then she sat up and looked around.

"What happened..." she asked herself, then her face saddened, "That's right... I jumped in front of the others and was shot..."

A single tear fell from her eyes.

"And... mom and dad.. they..." Kaho said and her shoulders began to tremble.

Back with Nuriko and the group...

Nuriko knelt down beside Kaho.

"You three, look away." she ordered.

"What? Why?" Tasuki asked.

"I'm going to undress her and bandage her wounds! Why else!" Nuriko snapped.

"But yer' a man-" Tasuki started and quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.

Tamahome and Hotohori blinked at Nuriko.

"Y-y-you're a man!" Tamahome shouted, pointing a disbelieving finger at the lavender haired warrior.

"Unbelievable!" Hotohori exclaimed.

' I can't believe it.' Hotohori thought, the concept still sinking in, 'I'm not the only beautiful man.'

Nuriko glared at Tasuki with angered eyes. A battle aura was practically visible around him.

Tasuki gulped.

"I'll deal with you later." Nuriko growled.

"W-we should d-do as he says." Tasuki stammered, then walked a few steps away from Kaho and Nuriko and turned his back to them.

Tamahome and Hotohori followed suit.

Nuriko lifted up Kaho's shirt and immediately, his face grew worried. All around her torso were long, narrow scars.

'What are these scars...' Nuriko thought then averted his attention to her wound, 'It doesn't look good. These wounds are deep."

Gripping the edge of his sleeve in his teeth, Nuriko ripped out a bandage from his clothes.

Minutes passed and Nuriko had finished his bandaging.

"Will she be all right?" Hotohori asked.

"Fortunately, nothing vital was hit, but it'll all depend on her will to live." Nuriko answered.

The four warriors looked worriedly upon the still-unconscious Kaho; torso wrapped with the yellow cloth from Nuriko's under tunic sleeve. Blood had already seeped its way up through the bandage, staining the beautiful material a dark red.

"I can't get the bleeding to stop!" Nuriko said with dismay, "If it doesn't stop..."

"Kaho!" Tamahome implored.

"Kaho, open yer' eyes!" Tasuki cried out.

Hotohori leaned over her.

"Kaho, hang on!" he cried.

Face tense with worry, Tasuki, too, bent over the girl.

' I'm sorry... If I had known they were your parents and saved them...' he thought gravely.

"She's getting pale!" Hotohori shouted.

Tasuki closed his eyes, his body shaking.

"Nuriko, how! How can we save her!" Hotohori demanded frantically.

"If we could give her blood... but we don't have the tools." Nuriko answered.

Tasuki clenched his muscles, his expression pure agony.

Back with Kaho...

"I can't hear anything. There's no one else here. Am I dying?" she asked herself.

At first, the thought made her heart race. But then, she began to hear the voices of her school mates.

_You're not welcome here. Go away._

_She's so annoying. Why doesn't she get the idea she doesn't belong here?_

_She's a freak. Just look at her eyes._

"That's right... I'm better off dead. I'm a failure. Everyone would be much happier if I died." Kaho said and closed her eyes, her voice grew heavy with unshed tears, "What reason do I have to live?"

Bright light suddenly appeared, shining from the girl's right. The warmth of it on her face made her look up to see a beautiful field, thickly dotted with pure, white-pedaled flowers.

Her gaze became fixed on the fields, almost beckoning her to come to them.

'If I go there, can I live in peace?' she thought.

Kaho began to walk towards the fields.

_"Kaho."_

Kaho stopped and turned to see her mother and father. Although she was glad to see them once more, she did not run to them. Her mind was made up, and living a peaceful life was what she wanted right now.

"Kaho, you can't give up now." her father said.

Kaho turned and faced the inviting fields again.

"But there's no point in me continuing to live on." said Kaho, "Nobody cares about me. I'm just a thorn in their sides."

Kaho's mother smiled.

"You're wrong, Kaho. You've never taken the time to realize the ones who truly care about you. Strain your ears and listen." she said, "Listen to the voices of the people who think you are important. Can you hear them?"

Slowly, Kaho turned her back upon the brightly lit fields of peace and listened.

Tasuki set his jaw.

"If she needs blood..." he said and reached down to grasp a shard of a beer bottle beside him in his fist.

"If blood is needed..." Hotohori said, then drew his sword and held it to his left wrist, teeth bared, "I will give her all I have!"

"I swear on my life, Kaho! Don't die!" Tasuki shouted and held the shard over his left breast.

Both men clenched their resolve, then selflessly struck without a second thought. Their blood fell to land upon Kaho's bandaged torso; two wide, hot symbols of love and determination mingled together with Kaho's own blood.

Back with Kaho...

"Kaho, live!"

Hotohori's voice reverberated through the dark void.

"Kaho, don't die!"

Tasuki's followed.

The girl stood in the black nothingness, eyes closed and a small smile on her face. Kaho's parents faded away, knowing that their daughter had begun to realize the truth.

"I won't die, just yet." she said.

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More author notes: (tear) I finally finished typing this thing up. In regards to the beer bottle shard. Some of you maybe wondering, "Where the hell did that come from?". Well, let me tell you I was trying to be creative XD At first I thought why not use a sharp rock? But what are the chances of that in the front of a movie theatre? A lot of the time, I see beer bottle glass around the floor near schools, theatres, downtown and other such places. So I thought, why not. Hope you guys don't mind.


	10. Chapter 10

Short author notes: I'm SO sorry for making this chapter really long. I got carried away. Sorry for not using Tamahome in many parts. Sometimes I completely forget about him XD And I just realized how badly I described Kaho's house. I'll fix that another time. Er... disclaimer'll be in here I guess. I don't own the song in here! Oh yeah, don't expect another chapter til like... two months later. I need a writer's vacation. XP

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Kaho's hand twitched against the cold concrete floor.

"Her bleeding..." said Nuriko.

"It's stopped!" Tamahome finished.

The two injured men looked up from their spots on the ground, to the slowly awakening girl.

Kaho's eyes fluttered, then slowly opened. All four warriors leaned over her, kneeling on the ground.

"Kaho!" Tasuki called with joy.

Her face sought the speaker of her name.

"Tasuki..." she said in a weak, but steady voice. She looked behind her, "Hotohori..." to her left, "Nuriko..." and next to Nuriko, "Tamahome..."

As she sat up, she winced at the pain in her sides. She placed a hand on her stomach and felt a sort of bandage under her shirt.

"I bandaged your wounds. Looks like it helped a little." said Nuriko.

Kaho turned her head to Nuriko.

"Looks like I'm alive thanks to you guys." said Kaho.

"Kaho, what were those-" Nuriko started, but Kaho clamped a hand over his mouth and the rest was muffled out.

"Please, Nuriko. Don't tell the others about my scars. My close encounter with death was enough worry for you guys." Kaho whispered pleadingly.

Kaho lifted her hand away from Nuriko's mouth and received a nod in return.

"Well, one less secret for you to worry about. The others know I'm a man." he whispered.

Kaho raised an eyebrow.

"Who spilled the beans?" she asked.

Nuriko glared at Tasuki.

"A certain red-head with a magic fan." he whispered.

"Thank goodness you are alive, Kaho." Hotohori said and smiled, his face once again gentle.

"Don't do that again! Ya scared us all to death!" Tasuki shouted, then his face became more gentle, "I'm glad yer' alright now."

Kaho gave him a small smile, then adjusted herself so that she was looking at her parents. Tasuki and the others noticed the sad look in her eyes and turned their heads to see what she was looking at.

Tasuki's face quickly become one of shame and regret.

"I'm... sorry about yer' mom an' dad, Kaho." said Tasuki.

' Kaho's mother and father?' the other three thought at once.

Kaho's expression did not change, nor did she respond. A moment of silence fell over them before Kaho spoke.

"When I was about to die... everywhere I looked was emptiness and it was dark. Suddenly this bright and peaceful looking place appeared. I wanted to go there. I thought everyone hated me. But then, I hear you guys calling for me, so I didn't go." she said.

"And is this place... your world?" Tamahome asked.

"Yes and no. This is a memory of the day of my fifteenth birthday. My parents died a year ago, so the two over there aren't real. As for him," Kaho said, then turned and pointed to the dead man under the tree, "he was probably the one who re-created this."

"But if that's true, wouldn't this place have disappeared by now?" Nuriko pointed out.

"Then the source must be from someone else." said Hotohori.

"But who?" asked Tasuki.

As if to answer his question, a woman's voice was heard.

_For that, we will explain to you why._

Everyone looked around, but saw nothing except for the regular surroundings. Kaho gasped as a bright, white light began emitting from her body. Kaho screwed her eyes shut, wishing the light would stop.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the forest, but it was night. Her hair's tips were read again and her clothes had changed back into her original black ones.

She placed her right hand on her stomach, but there was no bandage, not even a wound it seemed. The only thing that seemed to be hurting was her cheek.

As she sat up, she found the others on the ground with Tasuki and Hotohori on her left, and Tamahome and Nuriko on her right. It seemed like they had been knocked out by something.

She lifted her left hand and right arm.

' The scars are back. Guess this isn't another dream.' she thought.

Shortly afterwards, Tasuki and the others began to wake up.

"I got the biggest headache in the world..." Tasuki groaned and sat up.

"Me too..." Tamahome and Nuriko said together.

"Kaho. Are you unharmed?" Hotohori asked.

Kaho turned her head towards him and gave a nod.

"My wound is gone too. It's like nothing even happened." she said.

"But... how can this be?" Hotohori asked and looked at his left wrist. The injury he had made to himself in order to save Kaho was gone.

"That was an illusion we created with Taiitsukun's help. Everything you saw was not real."

Everyone turned towards the path through the trees they had taken to the clearing to see Kaho's parents.

Kaho squeezed her eyes shut and held her head in frustration.

"When will this damn dream end!" she shouted.

Kaho's parents walked towards her and knelt down.

"Kaho. It's not a dream. We're really here, with you." her father said in a soft voice and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Tasuki and the others watched in astonishment at the two people before them.

Kaho opened her eyes and looked at the gentle faces of the pair infront.

"But... you can't be. How can you be here, right now, in front of me, if you died a year ago?" Kaho asked in a shaky voice.

"Taiitsukun summoned us to this world not long ago. She told us everything that was going on with you, Kaho. She told us about how you became the Priestess of Suzaku and the best god, Suzaku." said her mother, "We're not alive, but we came back to see you one last time."

"Happy sixteenth birthday, Kaho." her father said and smiled, "I know it's already passed, but better late than never."

Kaho looked at him through tear-filled eyes.

"What do you mean, 'one last time'? If I can summon Suzaku, I can bring you back." she said.

Her mother shook her head.

"When we came here and Taiitsukun told us about the wishes, that's what we thought too. But she told us that reviving a dead person is impossible. A soul needs a body and ours are no longer suitable to be in." she said sadly.

Kaho shut her eyes tightly again and fought to hold back the tears.

"I'm sorry, Kaho. We wanted to show you how much the guilt from our deaths was consuming you. As the saying goes, 'If you love something, set it free' and as such, we are doing so." her father said.

"But I miss you so much." Kaho choked out, still holding back her tears, "It's not fair."

The four warriors regarded their priestess with sad faces and tried their best not to cry, but failing miserably.

"We're sorry we left you all alone at home. I know it hurts to see us leave again, but," her father said and smiled, "we're proud of you. You've made some good friends and you've taken the responsibility of being the Priestess of Suzaku."

"You've grown up so much while we've been away." her mother said and hugged her, "It's okay to cry. I know you made me a promise that you wouldn't cry again, but I don't want a promise like that. When you need to cry, cry with all your heart. I want you to promise me that you'll keep living, with your head held high and never give up. Can you do that for me?"

Kaho allowed the tears she held back to roll down her face and drip onto the ground. She raised her head to look at her mother's face and nodded.

Kaho's mother smiled.

"Before our time is up, your father and I have one final song for you." she said and began to hum a tune...

_You make this world a better place  
__When you try your best each day.  
__Just listen and your heart will show the way._

_It'll make you strong inside,  
__Every time you do what's right.  
__In the time of darkness, you'll find a light._

_You'll find you have the courage within  
__To fight for what you truly believe in._

Kaho's father began to sing as well...

_With all your heart.  
__I know you can do anything.  
__With a little faith, you can reach right up to  
__The highest star._

_There's no mountain you can't climb  
__Just look inside and all you have to do is try  
__With all your heart._

_There's a difference you can make,  
__So never underestimate  
__The power of what one can really do  
__And nothing's gonna stand in your way,  
__'Cause now you know you've got what it takes to save the day._

'I can understand where she gets her voice from.' Tasuki thought and continued listening to the song.

_With all your heart  
__I know you can do anything.  
__With a little faith, you can reach right up to  
__The highest star._

_There's no mountain you can't climb  
__Just look inside and all you have to do is try  
__With all your heart._

_If you start to stumble,  
__If you start to fall,  
__Just keep reaching for your dreams.  
__You know you're gonna catch them all._

Kaho's mother and father began to fade away as they finished their song.

"Mom... What was the name of that song you always sang to me when I was little?" Kaho asked, her gaze at the ground.

"Melodies of Life." she answered.

Kaho's parents stood up together and regarded the four warriors.

"You boys take good care of Kaho okay? She hasn't placed her trust in anyone for a long time." her mother said and turned her attention back to Kaho, "There are three other songs that were sung to you when you were little. You'll need them in the future. Goodbye, Kaho."

Kaho wiped the tears away with her hands and tilted her head back to look at her parents' faces one more time.

"It was good to see you guys again." she said and smiled, "This is the best birthday present I've ever gotten."

Kaho's parents disappeared and she stared up into the night sky. More tears trickled down her face, leaving trails that glistened in the moonlight. She continued to wear a smile, even though her parents were gone. The guilt was no longer inside her and she made a new promise to her mother; a promise she would be sure to keep.

"Hey Kaho, ya gonna be alright?" Tasuki asked.

Kaho wiped away the tears and nodded.

"I'll be fine." she answered.

Suddenly, the clearing vanished from around the face. The trees, bushes, and grass were now replaced with an ethereal landscape of mountains and temples. Strange, lavender spheres floated, suspended in the misty air that twined its way through the rocky spires.

Everyone looked about in confusion.

"What the...?" Tasuki said aloud.

"The view's completely different!" Tamahome said, as if to answer Tasuki's question.

"I've watched the interactions between you."

Everyone turned their heads towards the stairs in front of them, where the unseen, grave voice had informed.

"Who's there!" Tasuki demanded.

The answer was smug and said almost warmly.

"The one you have been seeking."

Hotohori straightened.

"Then.. this is... Mt. Taikyoku?" he asked.

The gaze slowly flew up the incredibly long flight of stairs that reached down from the heights. A small form appeared, hovering over the stairs, surrounded by four long, floating sashes that almost danced around it.

"Welcome, Kaho." the figure said. The form shimmered, blue light black lighting the figure, "No... Priestess of Suzaku."

"Taiitsukun." Kaho acknowledged, voice hesitant.

"I've noted your strong feelings for your four warriors and their attachment to you."

The intimidating form's eyes glowed, hinting at the knowledge which resided within their forbidding depths.

The black lighting faded from around the hovering form of Taiitsukun to reveal a squat, aged body and an old, cragged face. Her brows were heavy over wizened eyes, and her jowls and earlobes sagged with the ages. Long gray hair was twisted on top of her head into a fat bun, held in place by a gold hairpiece, complete with long spiked fingers that poked up, framing the top of her head. The remainder of her hair hung in a thick tail down her back, forming a silver cape over her white and green robes.

Everyone looked at her in disbelief.

"Maybe I did die and this is actually the devil." Kaho said aloud.

"Watch your mouth, chickie!" Taiitsukun snapped.

"S-so- you're really Taiitsukun?" Tamahome asked.

"That's right. I'm the ruler of this world..." she replied, then noticed that Hotohori turned away from her, "Hotohori! How dare you turn away!"

"I cannot bear ugliness!" he answered and placed a hand over his face.

Everyone watched him, sweat drops prominent, as Taiitsukun materialized a large, golden hammer and used it to strike Hotohori on the head with it.

"I was testing you to see how much you cared for each other, and you have exceeded my expectations." said Taiitsukun, "And because you had not seen your mother and father in a long time, I summoned them and they gladly helped."

"Thank you... Taiitsukun." Kaho said softly.

Tasuki glanced at her and wondered if she was really okay.

"All of you are exhausted both mentally and physically. I'll take you to my palace. You can rest there and we will discuss the method to return you to your world tomorrow." said Taiitsukun.

Taiitsukun held up her hands, fingers interlaced. In one fluid motion, she snapped them apart with a gasp. Power streamed from them to surround the four warriors and their priestess, who were sent screaming up into the air, sitting upon a large, pink tile.

Floating high above the ground, Kaho gazed down upon Mt. Taikyoku in astonishment.

'This is amazing...' she thought.

"This is... Taikyoku?" Tamahome asked, short of breath.

The pink tile moved forward, swiftly and smoothly twining around the peaks and lavender globes, intent on its course.

"We're perfectly safe. We won't drop to a bloody death." Nuriko muttered to himself, a death grip on their perch, making his knuckles white.

Dry laughter echoed next to them. Taiitsukun floated alongside, slowly outpacing their transportation.

"This mountain is something only a select few can experience. If the evil-hearted came upon it, it would become a mere mountain covered with rocks." she said in a comically dark voice and laughed.

The regal palace of Taikyoku rested upon the summit of a mountain, surrounded by high peeks and fog. Its curves and lines bespoke of elegance, and the air carried a strange, exotic scent.

Taiitsukun led the weary travelers inside her beautiful home and into a room that very much resembled a throne room. All along the canary yellow walls were sky-blue drapes and the floor had baby-blue tiles with a large carmine colored carpet in the middle.

"Nyan nyan." Taiitsukun said aloud.

A group of ten shiny, pink spheres appeared, expanded in size, and popped open to reveal incredibly cute, little girls. Perfect clothes, they all had pale turquoise hair in braided pigtails with golden globes at the ends. The girls landed on the ground, hands held politely in front of them, red and pink robes swaying in the breeze. They smiled up at the visitors.

"Lead them to the dining room and give them some food to eat. Afterwards, show them their rooms." Taiitsukun ordered shortly.

"Haiiiiii!" the girls shouted in glee. Each pair of girls ran over to a person and eagerly pushed them into another room; presumably the dining room.

The food was quickly prepared and everyone sat down.

Tasuki looked at the seemingly delicious food.

"Can little girls really cook?" he asked.

Kaho took a slice of pork and took a bite.

"It tastes good to me." said Kaho.

The girls giggled at the compliment.

"Thank you, thank you!" they chimed.

Hearing that the food was good, everyone dug in.

After eating her food, Kaho stood up and walked over to one of the nyan nyan.

"Can you show me to my room, please?" she asked.

The nyan nyan nodded and began walking through the door they had come in.

"Tired already, Kaho?" Nuriko asked.

"Ya didn't eat too much." said Tasuki.

"Not much of an appetite. Too tired." Kaho replied and waved good night, "See you guys in the morning."

"I get the feeling there's something she's not telling us." Tamahome said when she was gone.

"She doesn't seem to have complete trust in us. I know she trusts us, but... how much well exactly..." Nuriko said quietly.

"Perhaps it is best if she is left alone for now. After all.. she had just seen her mother and father not long ago." said Hotohori.

A moment of silence fell over them before Tasuki spoke up.

"Bahhh!" he shouted in frustration, "Women are always so unpredictable."

Everyone sighed and continued to eat. Tasuki resumed his meal as well, trying to push away the thought of Kaho. But he knew that in his heart, he was just as worried as the others, or more.

After everyone finished their meals, the nyan nyan showed them each their separate rooms. Each room was small with pale yellow walls and sapphire colored floor tiles. Each room only had a bed in them and each had doors that lead to balconies outside.

Tasuki tried his best to sleep, but he could not push the thought of Kaho out of his mind.

'Damn... Can't sleep.' he thought with a pout.

He stood up and walked out onto the balcony to help straighten his mind. He slid his arms on top of the railing and rest his chin on top of them, gazing into the dark canyon in front of him.

'Why can't I get 'er off my mind?' he thought and sighed, ' I don't even like women, yet I'm bein' drawn to 'er.'

Suddenly, a very fain sound entered his ears. Of course the sound was very familiar, since he had already heard it before.

With Kaho...

Kaho was sitting on the floor of the left side of her balcony, back against the wall that framed the door, and her head leaned against the metal bars that shot down from the railing (sorta like prison bars), gazing through them at the dark canyon. She was quietly humming the tune to Melodies of Life, but stopped when she heard a knock on the door to her room.

"Go away." she replied tiredly.

Whoever is was entered her room, then closed the door behind them and stood beside her on the balcony. Kaho didn't need to look up to see that it was Tasuki who was beside her.

"Should have known you wouldn't listen." said Kaho.

Tasuki took a seat beside her.

"Everyone's worried about ya. I just came to see what's been on yer' mind." he said.

Kaho sighed.

"Again with worries? I appreciate your concerns for me, but there's nothing you guys need to worry about. I'm fine." she said.

Tasuki crossed his arms and his voice took a serious tone.

"I dunno about the others, but I can't believe that anymore." he said, "What's so bad that yer' keepin' it a secret from us?"

"It's nothing bad, nor is it good. I've hidden everything from everyone for as long as I can remember. Why change my ways now?" the answered.

"Why.. did ya decline his majesty's proposal? He seemed ta really like ya an' all. Ya two seemed ta have a lot in common... What with both of ya havin' no family..." Tasuki said hesitantly, his voice getting quieter and quieter as her spoke.

Kaho glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I mean like... Is it 'cause he's a guy er' somethin'?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"Er... we guys gotta look out fer' each other, right?" he answered.

Kaho stared at him with a disbelieving face, sweat drop prominent.

"Tasuki, that's the worst lie I've ever heard." said Kaho, "What makes you think I would tell you, if I wouldn't tell him?"

"Well... I know men ain't exactly yer' interest an' he was really disappointed, ya know? I figured that might've been what's on yer' mind." said Tasuki.

Kaho turned her attention back to the darkened landscape before her.

"That's only half the reason." she said.

"So... what's the other half?" Tasuki asked.

"You wouldn't understand." she answered.

Tasuki crossed his arms and frowned.

"Don't sound like that's what was on yer' mind..." he said quietly, "If that's not it, what's been buggin' ya?"

"Hmph. You're one to talk. Even as we speak, you yourself have something on your mind that's been troubling you." said Kaho.

Tasuki blinked in surprise.

"H-how did ya-" he started, then whirled his head about, facing away from Kaho, "I dunno what yer' talkin' about."

Kaho smirked.

' Dumbass doesn't even realize it when he acts like me.' she thought.

"If I told you one thing that was on my mind, would you listen to me the next time I say I'm fine?" she asked.

Tasuki turned his head back to her, arms still crossed.

"Can't make any promises on that." he answered.

Kaho brought her knees to her chest and put her arms around them.

"I feel like I'm causing you guys a lot of trouble .You guys have gone out of your daily lives just to help me with the summoning of Suzaku and even took care of me while I was sick." she said guiltily.

"Wha... wha'd ya mean?" he asked.

"Like with Hotohori. If I weren't here and the tale of the Priestess of Suzaku never existed, he could have found an empress by now instead of waiting for the priestess of come, only to unaccept his affection and shatter his hopes." she replied, "If I didn't intrude on his life, Nuriko, being the gay guy that he is, could have had a larger chance with Hotohori. For whatever reason he does this for, Tamahome could have continued collecting money instead of wasting his time protecting somebody like me. And you..."

She paused a moment before she continued.

"You could have gone back with Kouji and the other bandits instead of worrying over a girl like me." she said gloomily.

Tasuki could only look in shame at the truth that Kaho spoke. It was correct, but something in him told him she didn't have it straight.

Kaho tilted her head back to gaze upon the stars that shone down upon the two.

"Ever since I was little, I always asked myself one question: What reason do I have to live? And to this day, I've never found a good reason." she said quietly.

Kaho brought her gaze back down.

"Well, I told you one thing on my mind. You should go back to your own room now. Gotta rest up, you know?" she said.

Tasuki gave no reply, but stood up and walked out of her room, closing the door behind him. He sighed and began walking back to his room.

"She has a lot of troubles on her mind."

Tasuki turned around to see Hotohori, Tamahome, and Nuriko all standing with their eyes closed, arms crossed, and nodding their heads.

"We listened through the door incase you're wondering." said Tamahome.

Tasuki's right eye twitched.

"An'... How much a' that did ya hear?" he asked nervously.

"Just the part where you two were talking about us." Nuriko answered.

"I still do not understand why she will not give us her complete trust." Hotohori said sadly.

As if to answer his question, Taiitsukun appeared between them, upside-down.

Everyone gave a small scream of fear and surprise.

"Don't do that, ya old witch!" Tasuki shouted and received blow to the head.

"You four wish to know more about Kaho?" asked Taiitsukun, "Come with me and you shall see the harsh life she has lived."

Tasuki, Tamahome, Nuriko, and Hotohori followed Taiitsukun to a dark room filled with many different sized mirrors, all suspended in the air.

Taiitsukun stopped in front of the largest mirror in the whole room.

"Look into this mirror..." she ordered.

As everyone obeyed, the mirror emitted an incredibly bright, white light. Everyone shielded their eyes from it. When they uncovered their eyes, they were standing outside a pale blue building with leaf ridden bushes along the side.

"You guys... we're not allowed to be here. I thought we were gonna play a game."

Tasuki and the others turned around to see the back of a little girl with black hair and a group of seven kids in front of her; all around the age of six.

"We are. It's called, 'Whack-a-mole'." The leader of the kids, who was a boy, said.

"Really? How do we play?" the girl asked, intrigued with the name.

All the kids walked over to the bushes and each plucked a long, pointy branch.

"We choose one person to be the mole and the others use these branches to whack whoever is the mole." he answered, "The point of the game is to try to avoid being whacked as much as possible."

"But... isn't that dangerous?" the girl asked.

"Not if you're quick." he replied, "You're our friend, right? Don't you want to play with us?"

"Of course I am!" the girl exclaimed, "I'll even be it!"

The little boy smiled at his success.

"Then start running." he said.

The little girl gave a small nod, then turned around and began to run. She had her head bowed down, so Tasuki, Tamahome, Nuriko, and Hotohori still could not see her face.

The other kids followed closely behind her, waving the branches high in the air.

Tamahome walked in front of the path the girl was running towards. At the same time, Tasuki walked a small distance in front of Tamahome, so that he would be between the girl and the kids when they run by.

As the girl was closing in, Tamahome kneeled down and extended his arms towards her. But instead of running into the safeness of his arms, she ran right through him.

Tamahome blinked in surprise.

"Cut it out, ya little brats!" Tasuki shouted and attempted to grab the leader by the wrist, but his hand went right through Tasuki's, "What the..."

"Remember you two. This is just a memory. We're not real here." Nuriko said sadly.

One kid from the group had sped up their pace and was now, right behind her. It was a girl with blond hair and blue eyes. When the blond haired girl brought down the branch like a whip upon the other's back, the black haired girl let out a scream of pain and fell to the floor. A long red line appeared on the back of her white shirt.

"Then that means..." Tasuki muttered and turned to the fallen girl with shocked eyes.

The other kids had quickly caught up with the black haired girl and each took a whip at her; red lines criss-crossing on front and back of her shirt, from shoulder to waist.

A loud buzzing sound echoed throughout the area, signaling for all kids to go back into the building. Each child dropped their branch and ran inside, leaving the injured one behind.

The black haired girl slowly sat up on her knees, her head hung low.

"Aren't we supposed to be friends?" the girl asked aloud.

She turned her head to the school's side doors, revealing her crimson eyes brimmed with tears and her face with the tears that had already streaked down.

'Those eyes...' Tasuki thought.

'Kaho.' they all thought simultaneously.

The scene before them blurred away and was replaced with the living room of a house. They all stood in the space between the couch and the television.

"What the..." Tasuki muttered.

"This must be Kaho's home." Hotohori acknowledged.

The sound of a door opened behind them. Tasuki, Tamahome, Nuriko, and Hotohori turned to see the same Kaho that they had seen a moment ago. She still wore the same blood-stained shirt.

"I'm home..." she called out meekly.

"Kaho! What happened!" her mother shouted worriedly as she came down the stairs.

Kaho's mother ran the last few steps and knelt down in front of Kaho.

"What? What's happened?"

The voice came from behind a closed door from the hall above the stairs.

Kaho's mother leaned back.

"Kaho's been hurt again. Could you bring the first-aid kit when you're out, please?" she shouted.

Almost right after she finished her sentence, Kaho's father came out of the door and ran down the stairs to Kaho, carrying a little white box with a red cross on the top.

"I told you to stop playing with those kids." her mother scolded and took off Kaho's shirt to wrap up her wounds with bandages.

"It wasn't them!" Kaho insisted, "I was clumsy and I fell in some bushes. They're my friends!"

Kaho's mother and father gave her a sad, sympathetic look.

"If those were friends, I'd hate to see her enemies." Tamahome commented and received a light blow to the head from Nuriko, considering his strength.

This scene blurred away just like the one before and they were back at the side of the pail blue building. They stood at the sidelines as Kaho was being confronted face to face by the same group of kids.

The kids did not seem to look very happy with her. In fact, they looked quite angry.

"Wh-what d-did you guys wanna t-talk to me about?" Kaho asked nervously.

The leader boy clenched his fists and bared his teeth.

"You know what..." he growled, "You told on us. Last night, your mom and dad phoned my mom and dad, and I got in trouble. The others said the same thing."

Kaho took a step back in fear.

"No! I didn't! I told them it was my fault! Not yours!" she pleaded.

"Liar!" he shouted and slapped Kaho on her left cheek, leaving an imprint.

Kaho sat on her knees and placed a hand on her cheek, tears rolling down her face and shoulders trembling.

"Why won't you believe me? Aren't I your friend?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Why should we believe you? You're a freak with red eyes. You were never our friend." he replied in a low voice.

Kaho's head hung low, allowing the words to sink in.

Tasuki, Tamahome, Nuriko, and Hotohori could do nothing but watch in agony.

The boy did a hard punch to her side, causing her to curl up into a ball. The others followed suit. Soon, kids and punches were all aimed at Kaho. Three kids grabbed branches and used them along with the feet and fists.

The scene faded away and an extremely dim room replaced it. The only lighting was the moonlight that shone through the window. To the left of the door were two shelves of stuffed animals, to the right was a small bookshelf filled with books. In the upper right corner was an open trunk of toys and in front of that was a bed. On the edge of that bed, sat Kaho.

Kaho looked a little older than the last one they saw; about two years older. Kaho's pant sleeves were pulled up as far as they could go and in her right hand was a knife.

Their gaze remained on the knife for a long moment. The sharp edge of the knife was covered in something dark. Their gaze then turned to her legs. All around her legs were small cuts. A few of them looked to have been newly made, while the others had begun to scab.

'She didn't...' Tasuki thought, horrified.

The next scene that took place was in front of a large, white, three-story building. Kaho stood at the front doors, arms crossed and facing two guys. This Kaho looked older as well; about three years this time. Her age wasn't the only thing that changed.

Hotohori's eyes widened. The look in her eyes was something he had seen before. Her eyes were hard and icy. The Kaho before them was completely different from the past two, and was very similar to the Kaho they knew outside the illusion.

The two men facing her looked older than her. one was taller than the other. The taller one looked older by two years and had short, spiky black hair and brown eyes. The shorter one looked older by one year, had chin length brown hair and blue eyes.

"You wanna hang out with us?" the taller one asked mischievously.

"We'd like a new friend." the shorter one added, in the same kind of tone.

Kaho gave no response, but uncrossed her arms, then opened the doors to walk inside.

"I don't have time to play with scum." she muttered.

"Wha-what did you say?" the taller one shouted angrily.

The illusion that followed next seemed to be a fight scene between Kaho and a blond haired, blue eyed girl. In this illusion, Kaho was older yet again. This vision seemed to be the most recent, seeing as this Kaho looked to be the same age as the Kaho they knew outside.

They watched everything from the beginning, where Kaho was held by four other girls, to the end where she had gotten the injury and scar on her left hand.

"Isn't that the little girl we saw in the beginning of this whole thing?" Nuriko asked, pointing to the blond haired one.

"Yeah... I think it is." Tamahome commented.

"... She's a bitch if ya asked me." said Tasuki.

The scene disappeared and they were back in the mirror filled room.

Taiitsukun appeared before them and received a few screams.

"I'll never... get used to this." Tasuki muttered.

"I am assuming all of you would like to speak with Kaho now." said Taiitsukun, "I have informed her of what you have seen and that you will be there shortly."

Everyone nodded and walked to Kaho's room. Upon entering, they found her sitting on the centre of her bed with her arms and legs crossed and facing their direction.

"Taiitsukun told me you'd be dropping by." she said, "What exactly did you guys want to find out by viewing my memories?"

An uneasy silence came over them.

"We merely wished to know the reason you are so distant from us; why you do not trust us as much as we'd like you to." answered Hotohori.

"And... did you answer your questions?" Kaho asked.

"We've gotten more questions than when we started." Nuriko answered.

"Then I'll explain what you saw." Kaho replied.

"When I was six, all I ever wanted was a friend. When that group of kids said they'd be my friends, I was really happy. It didn't matter to me that they made me do bad things. All that mattered to me was their friendship. But after they hurt me and said I was never their friend, I gave up on them. I tried to make other friends, but the same thing kept happening over and over again." she said and took a breath, "When I was eight, I couldn't take it anymore and that's when I started slitting my legs. Death seemed so inviting at the time. My dad found out eventually and he convinced me to stop. I didn't try to make friends as much after that. Every day, people tried to trick me, and the first few times worked. But day after day, I began to lose my trust in people, growing more and more bitter at the world for giving me such a miserable life. At the age of eleven, I didn't have an ounce of trust left to give. There wasn't a point. My parents were sad all the time because I always came home with injuries. I thought that if I stopped coming home hurt, they would be happy. If the price was to give up my trust and friendship, I gladly payed it. That girl with the blond hair and blue eyes' name is Misora. She was always inventing ways to get me to snap."

Kaho took a moment to catch her breath before continuing.

"What I fear most isn't death. I'll embrace death with open arms if I have to. What I fear most... is loneliness." she said hesitantly, a sad look upon her face, "If I fell in love, I would be afraid of being left. If I made friends, I would be afraid of being betrayed and vice versa."

All four warriors looked upon the agonized face of their priestess.

"I know you all would say you would never betray me, but it's a fear that will remain in my heart for as long as I live. Perhaps you'd say you'd never leave either, but you can't make a promise on that. The cloaked man that was in the palace courtyard almost a week ago, nearly killed all of us. If Nuriko wasn't there, we'd have been done for." Kaho said and clenched her fists.

Hotohori knelt down in front of her and held her hands in his.

"The first step to becoming stronger is to overcome your fears." he said gently.

Kaho looked at him with uncertainty.

"What if I can't..." she said quietly.

Tamahome took a step forward.

"We'll help you. Start by placing your faith in us." he said reassuringly.

Kaho looked around at the positive faces of her warriors.

"Will you.. Will you accept me for who I am? Will you be my friends?" she asked.

It was Tasuki's turn to speak.

"Stupid girl. We accepted ya fer' who ya were and as a friend from the very beginnin'" he answered.

Kaho smiled and brushed away a tear with her right hand.


	11. Chapter 11

Author Notes: (is strangling a Tasuki plushie) Why do you have to be like Tamahome! WHY!... Oh... Hello everyone! It's another chapter up! I know I said two months vacation for me, but the original plan was a month vacation. It takes about a month for me to write because I slack off so much. Hmmm... I thought I had more to say but apparently not. Hope you like the chapter. (still strangling)

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Kaho awoke the next day, early in the morning, courtesy of the two nyan nyan.

"We wake! We wake!" they said cheerfully and giggled.

Kaho sat up and rubbed her eyes. As she sat up, she heard Tasuki scream from the hall outside her door.

"GIMME BACK MY PANTS, YA LITTLE...!" he shouted.

The voice of a nyan nyan followed after.

"I was only helping you dress!" she shouted.

Then the sound of feet echoed through the hall.

"Tasuki! Put some pants on, you idiot!" Nuriko shouted.

"I would! But those kids have my only pair!" Tasuki shouted back.

"No, no! Don't go that-!" Tamahome shouted.

A nyan nyan with a pair of pants held up high came running by Kaho's open door. Following that nyan nyan was a pantless Tasuki, and following him were Nuriko and Tamahome.

Kaho stared at the open door, a faint blush across her face.

Hotohori walked in and chuckled silently at her expression.

"Good morning, Kaho. Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Kaho nodded and smiled.

"Today's the day I go back home..." she said quietly.

Hotohori took a seat on the bed and placed a hand on her hands.

"Come back soon and please, try not to get hurt." he said, concern written all over his face.

"If ya take too long, I might have ta come and get cha."

Kaho turned her head back to the doorway to see a fully dressed Tasuki, walking in, carrying a nyan nyan like a hare and behind him were Tamahome and Nuriko.

"All a' us will be waitin' fer' ya ta come back. So ya better not take too long." Tasuki said and smiled.

"I'll have to come back then. Who else is gonna summon Suzaku and help Konan?" said Kaho, "We'd better go to Taiitsukun."

Everyone nodded and walkedto the room they were in when they had first arrived. Taiitsukun had been waiting for them. She sat upon her seat in the middle of the room.

"I shall now inform you of the way to return you back to your own world." she said, as the five approached.

Everyone gave their utmost attention to Taiitsukun and what she had to say.

"First of all, you must be absolutely positive you wish to return home. Even the slightest doubt could be disastrous." Taiitsukun explained.

Kaho gave a nod.

"Everyone, surround her." Taiitsukun ordered. The four warriors obeyed and sat around her in a star like circle, Taiitsukun being the top of the star, "Everyone, send your energy to Kaho. Kaho, you must concentrate on your home and use their energy to send you there."

Kaho, sitting on her knees, closed her eyes and began to focus.

'When I get back home... I can make my final decisions about school.' she thought, 'I can sort out my heart... these feelings I have...'

Images of Tasuki ran through her mind. She didn't know why, but she felt drawn to him. Of course, she took an instant disliking to him when they first met... but... from the moment she woke up at the bandits' hideout, 'til now, her feelings began to grow stronger. The first thing she did when she realized this, was push it far into her mind, thinking it would go away in time, like the others. But it did not. She didn't want this feeling in her. This feeling... she felt it would only be a burden and cause her more suffering.

A sudden jolt coursed through Kaho's body, disrupting her thoughts.

"You fool!" Taiitsukun shouted, "I told you to concentrate! If you don't, you'll be trapped in the rift between the two worlds!"

Kaho collected her wits, then pushed away her thoughts and concentrated solely on returning home. She thought about her apartment. She thought about her old house, the school she went to and lastly, the library she had gone to that started this whole thing.

Granted, they weren't the most favourable things to think of, but it worked nonetheless. Kaho felt a burning sensation building up in her body, just like when she first came. A quick, crimson light emitted from her body and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Unable to feel her presence anymore, Tasuki opened his eyes and stared sadly at the spot where Kaho used to be.

' Be back soon...' he thought.

In a dimley lit alley beside Kaho's apartment...

A bright, red light shone throughout the alley, lighting up the walls of the buildings.

Static electricity danced alongside Kaho as she lay on the ground. Kaho opened her eyes and sat up, immediately recognizing her surroundings. She tilted her head up to view the sky. If it was a school day, school would have ended for the day, long ago.

'I'm back...' she thought.

Kaho dusted herself off and walked into the apartment building. She walked to the counter, where a woman was busy organizing papers.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Could you tell me what the date is today?" Kaho asked.

"Certainly. It's Thursday,March 12." the woman answered.

Kaho's eyes widened.

"Th-thanks." she said and walked into the elevator.

'Today's the same day that I was sucked into that book... Time must go at different paces.' she thought, 'I've been in the book for nearly two weeks, while it's only been three or four hours here.'

Suddenly Kaho realized something and groaned.

'That means I still have to do my homework!' she thought. She realized something more and groaned again, 'And I left it all with my backpack at Hotohori's palace! What'm I gonna do!'

As the elevator arrivedto the fourth floor, Kaho walked and grumbled her way to her apartment. She punched in the six-digit number for the door and stepped inside. She flopped down onto her bed and stared angrily at the ceiling.

'That means I'm still fifteen... My birthday is tomorrow...' she thought unhappily, 'Friday the thirteenth really is an unlucky day.'

Kaho sat up and folded her arms.

'The school library usualy has extra textbooks lying around, but it's not open 'til morning...' she thought, 'I'll have to get up early and do my homework then. Shouldn't take too long anyway.'

Kaho walked over to her small kitchen and opened one of the cupboards. Inside it ws a bunch of medicinal stuff. There were pills for sinus congestion, pain and pressure, and headaches; cough syrups, cough drops, eye drops, ointments, and a bunch of bandages.

Kaho dug her way to the back of the back of the cabinet, where the pills for fevers were. She took two caplets, both half red, half white, and swallowed them.

'Just incase the fever comes back.' she thought.

Kaho placed the pills back into the cupboard and walked back to her bed. She was too tired to change her clothes, so she left them as they were. She pulled the covers over herself and set her alarm to six am before dozing off.

Meanwhile, in Konan...

It was mid-afternoon and Tasuki was wandering around Hotohori's palace, being his usual grumpy self. Well, usual since Kaho had left that is. A month had already passed since then and everyone was eager for her return, especially Tasuki.

As he walked around the corner of the building, two soldiers, who were walking his way, noticed him and gulped, knowing that he had a constant temper.

Tasuki glared at them.

"What're ya lookin' at!" he snarled.

"N-nothing sir!" they answered and hurried past him.

Nuriko came out from behind Tasuki and lightly punched his head. Nuriko still wore women's clothes. He was wearing a pink robe with flowers decorated all over it and it was opened slightly at the front to reveal that he wore a white, frilled blouse and lavendar pants underneath.

"It's not nice to scare the guards with that face of yours, Tasuki-kins." he said.

Tasuki whirled around and glared at Nuriko angrily.

"Well, who's face should I use? Yours?" Tasuki shouted.

Like Nuriko did a moment ago, Tamahome came out from behind Tasuki, carrying a short string of coins. He wore a white shirt, with red shirt ties and black pants. Over his shirt and pants, he wore a black, men's over robe with a red neckline and a red sash around his waist.

"What's wrong with you? You've been acting like this ever since we came back to the palace." he said.

Without turning, Tasuki pulled out his tessen from his overcoat and pointed it towards Tamahome.

"Rekka shien." he muttered.

Flames erupted from the tessen, burning Tamahome from the shoulders, up, and half his coins.

Tamahome blinked and coughed out black smoke.

"You burned my profits! You asshole!" he shouted, his face right in front of Tasuki's.

"I dare you to try it, money boy!" Tasuki shouted back.

They began fighting in the middle of the hall. One hand gripped each other's shoulder, while the other hand was used to push away each other's face.

Nuriko watched, amused at the two's behaviour; especially Tasuki's.

"Boys, no need to fight over me." he said in a self-assured tone, his back turned to them and brought a hand up to frame the side of his face.

The two fighting men stopped their squabbling to stare blankly at Nuriko.

"What the hell're ya talkin' about?" said Tasuki.

"Cross-dressing, gay guy..." muttered Tamahome.

The two men continued to stare at Nuriko as he began to laugh gayly.

"Bastard sure knows how to ruin a perfectly good fight." said Tasuki.

Tamahome nodded in agreement and walked away from Nuriko with Tasuki.

Having finished his self-absorbed moment, Nuriko turned around and blinked.

"How rude... Leaving when a woman is in the middle of talking." Nuriko said and pouted.

Back with Kaho...

_Beep... beep... beep... beep..._

It was already morning and Kaho woke up to the sound of her alarm clock, something she especially didn't miss while she was in Konan.

Kaho had ended up in a position where she was sprawled out on her front with her face in the pillow, while she was sleeping.

Without lifting her face from the pillow, Kaho slammed her hand down on the clock, silencing the annoying sound. Kaho sat up and rested her chin in her palms, elbows on knees and eyes still closed. She blinked her eyes open into a squint and walked to her bathroom.

When she was finished with her usual bathroom routine, she put on some different clothes. She wore a dark purple shirt, with a large skull etching on the back and dark gray pants with a shiny, little chain along the front side of the waist. She grabbed a dark, garnet colored elastic and put her hair up in a ponytail. With the tips of her hair dyed red, it was like flames were dancing on her hair.

She grabbed a purple notebook and an extra pencil case, and left her apartment.

As Kaho opened the door to her school, she heard the thudding of feet stop behind her. Kaho looked at the reflection in the glass door beside her. She saw the reflection of the girls who were with Misora when she was ganged up on the day before. The present leader of the group had her brown hair in a ponytail and she had teal colored eyes. She wore a plain white tank top and a baby-blue miniskirt. Her name was Leiko. She was pretty much Misora's best friend.

Strangely enough, Kaho felt no grudge against them.

"Sorry girls. Don't have time to stay and chat today." said Kaho.

One of the girls took Kaho's hand off the door and closed it.

"Where's Misora?" Leiko asked.

Kaho turned around to face her and the girls.

"How the hell should I know? She's YOUR friend." Kaho retorted, then noticed a broken dagger in one of Leiko's hands and raised an eyebrow at it.

Leiko lifted the dagger to put it in full view.

"We found Misora's dagger by the boulder, along with other pieces, covered in blood." she said a gave a cold glare at Kaho, "What did you do with her? We know you did something..."

Kaho stared at her, not showing even the slightest reaction.

"If you think it's me, why are you even asking?" said Kaho, "You have no proof I did something to that extent. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get going."

Kaho opened the door and walked inside, leaving a fuming girl behind her.

'If you won't admit it, we'll force it out of you.' Leiko thought and walked away, the other three following behind her.

As Kaho finished half of her homework, her mind began to wander, wrapping around the topic of Misora.

'It's strange that Misora isn't here... She's always here with those other girls. She was perfectly fine yesterday.' she thought and shrugged, 'Ack. Shouldn't matter to me anyway. One less enemy will make my day easier.'

About an hour after Kaho started working again, the bell rang. She picked up her books and walked off to her class.

_Ding... ding... ding..._

Kaho had a, surprisingly, relaxing day. Apparently, she had forgotten today was the last day before spring break. Luckily, her teachers didn't assign any homework. The only thing that bothered her throughout the day were the students, all the students. When she walked in the halls, from class to class, they gave her a sort of angry or evil glare, a malicious glare.

'I wonder if this has something to do with Misora.' thought Kaho. It kind of made sense too, since Misora was the most popular girl in school and everyone knew that Kaho was the least popular, even hated.

As Kaho waked to the school's front doors, she noticed that the halls were completely empty. When she opened the doors, she found the entire school standing outside in two lines, as if outlining a path. Of course, they had their heads turned to her and still glared at her with the same malicious looks.

Standing at the front of the lines, were the girls from the morning.

'Like leader, like followers I suppose.' Kaho thought with a sweat drop.

"We'll ask you one more time. Where. Is. Misora?" Leiko asked.

"And I'm telling you one more time. I. Don't. Fucking. Know." Kaho answered.

"Have fun walking home then." Leiko said and joined the line on the right.

Kaho glanced at the ground around them. Pebbles and rocks of different sizes along with shards of glass, were piled up beside them. She could only guess what those were for.

Sighing, Kaho took a step forward. As she walked by the first person on both lines, they picked up a pebble from their piles and threw them at her. Not surprised in the least bit, Kaho caught them both in her hands with ease. Kaho dropped them to the ground beside her and continued walking. This continued as she passed by the others as well. She dodged back and forth, left and right, and occasionally caught them with her hands. She was careful with the glass thought, and caught those with two fingers.

Leiko watched in confusion as Kaho dodged and caught the objects instead of letting them hurt her like she usually did. But her confusion was replaced with a cruel smile as one shard of glass had gotten through and stuck in Kaho's palm. But Kaho merely pulled it out and continued walking, no reaction whatsoever.

By the time Kaho had gotten away from the school, her hands were dripping with blood and she was exhausted. As she walked home, she brought her hands up to look at. She smiled sadly.

'Hotohori is gonna be so mad at me...' she thought.

Kaho walked through the front door of the apartment buiding and to her apartment, being careful not to let anyone see her condition. As she looked at the electric lock to her door, her vision began to fade in and out.

'Oh. What a wonderful birthday it is today.' she thought sourly.

She sluggishly punched in her number and stepped inside. Her vision came in and out more quickly now. Kaho collapsed, face first, onto the ground, and lost her consciousness.

Back in Konan...

"Kaho!"

Tasuki sat upright in his bed. His breathing came in gasps and sweat had formed on his face. Another month had already passed since Kaho had gone home.

'What's goin' on...?' he thought and rested his face in his palm, 'Did I just see Kaho? She looked like she was hurt.'

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Nuriko walked in. Along with Nuriko, was Tamahome.

"Tasuki, did you feel that?" Tamahome asked.

Tasuki nodded.

"I think something's happened to Kaho." said Nuriko.

Tasuki crossed his arms and thought for a moment.

"Well, just a minute ago, I had this weird vision sort a' thing. I saw Kaho injured, an' she was unconscious." he said.

Tamahome and Nuriko looked at each other with worry, then back at Tasuki.

"We need to tell his highness about this. No doubt he got the same ominous feeling." said Tamahome.

Tasuki put on his trench coat and hurried to the throne room with Nuriko and Tamahome.

As they approached the throne room doors, the two guards crossed their spears over it.

"My apologies. But you may not enter the throne room at this time." the first guard said.

"Why the hell not? This is important!" said Tasuki.

"His majesty is in an important meeting with the royal advisors. The advisors have ordered us to make sure there are no interruptions during the meeting." the other guard answered.

"Please, we must see his majesty immediately." Nuriko pleaded.

"Just let us in!" Tamahome said quickly after Nuriko.

"I'm sorry. We cannot let you pass. Please leave." the first guard said.

Tasuki turned around and stormed back.

"Lousy, good-fer'-nothin', stupid guards." he muttered.

Tasuki, Tamahome, and Nuriko walked out onto the outer halls, then faced each other.

"What's so important that we can't talk to his majesty." Tasuki complained.

"Well, he's the emperor... He's a busy guy." Tamahome said and sighed.

"What're we gonna do about Kaho? She could be in trouble." said Tasuki.

"Maybe one of us could try going to her world?" Tamahome suggested.

"Well how would we do that in the first place?" Tasuki asked.

"Why not the same way Kaho went back?" Nuriko said and received a confused look from them, "We'll focus our energy on Tasuki and all he has to do, is focus on Kaho's home."

"What? Why me?" Tasuki asked, confused.

"Because you're the one who saw her in that vision and you know her surroundings." Nuriko pointed out, "Come on. We'll try it in your room, Tasuki."

In Tasuki's room...

Nuriko and Tamahome sat on either side of Tasuki, eyes closed and focusing their energy on him. Tasuki focused on Kaho, the place she was at, and the school she went to.

A large jolt shot through Tasuki's body. He screamed in pain.

Tamahome and Nuriko stopped their focus and crawled over to the smoking Tasuki.

"I wonder what went wrong..." Tamahome mumbled, "Let's do it again!"

Tasuki quickly sat up and raised a fist.

"NO!" he shouted at the now laughing Tamahome.

"Maybe we should use an item as an amplifier for you to go to her world." said Nuriko.

"What kind a' item?" Tasuki asked.

"I don't know..." Nuriko answered and groaned in frustration.

"Did she ever take that 'backpack' thing home with her?" Tamahome asked.

Tasuki and Nuriko thought for a moment before Nuriko spoke up.

"You know, I don't believe she did." he said.

"I think it's still in 'er room here." said Tasuki, "I'll go get it."

Tasuki got up and hurried over to the room that used to be Kaho's. He quickly retrieved the bag and ran back to Nuriko and Tamahome.

"I got it." he called out as he re-entered his room.

"Good. Let's try again. Her bag should help." said Nuriko.

Once again, Nuriko and Tamahome sat on either side of Tasuki and focused their energy. Tasuki had the bag slung over his right shoulder and focused on Kaho's world. This time, instead of a large shock to thank their efforts, a warm sensation welcomed him. In the blink of an eye, a crimson light came out from his body and disappeared, along with him.

When they could no longer feel his presence, Nuriko and Tamahome opened their eyes.

"It worked." said Nuriko.

Suddenly, the doors opened and Hotohori walked in.

"Nuriko. Tamahome. What was that light? Where is Tasuki?" he asked.

"Tamahome and I will explain what happened." Nuriko said began explaining, from the ominous feelings, to the light.

After everything was explained, Hotohori sighed with grief.

"I apologize for not meeting with you earlier." said Hotohori, "Let us hope Tasuki can help her."

In Kaho's world...

Tasuki landed on a tiled floor with a solid thud.

' Did I make it?' he wondered.

Tasuki looked around. He was in a wide hallway and on every side of the walls, were numbered doors and strange pads with numbers beside them.

All the doors were closed except for the one in front of him. It was only open slightly and a faint trail of blood droplets were heading into it. He peaked into the door.

"Kaho...? Ya there?" he whispered.

He opened the door a little more. What he saw next made him jump. From the bottom of his eyes, he saw a figure. He looked down and found Kaho on the ground, unconscious. Her blood made a small pool in her palms and strands of hair had fallen over her face.

Tasuki dropped the bag on the floor.

He stepped over her and grabbed the closest towel he could find. He walked back and knelt down beside her. he used the towel to absorbe the blood in her hands. Afterwards, he stepped over her again and placed the towel in the kitchen sink. He walked back to Kaho. He placed one arm below her knees and the other arm around her shoulders, then picked her up and lay her on the bed.

After he layed her down, he began to open drawers, looking for ointment and bandages. He remembered she had a bandage around her hand when they first met, so he knew she had a supply somewhere. Once he found them, he treated her wounds.

Once he finished, he knelt down beside the bed and brushed away the strands of hair from her face.

'I swear Kaho, I'll get whoever did this to ya.' he thought angrily and left her apartment, closing the door behind him. He followed the blood trail, out of the building.

At least ten minutes after he left, Kaho began to stir. She blinked her eyes into focus. The first thing she noticed, was that she was in her bed.

'Didn't I pass out on the floor?' she wondered.

The second thing she noticed, was that her hands were wrapped in bandages.

'I know I didn't do that.. so, who..?' she thought.

She then sat up and saw he rbag on the floor. A small, faint trail of blood could be seen beside her bag.

'Didn't I leave that in Konan?' she panicked a bit as she realized what all this meant.

Hotohori, Tamahome, Nuriko, or Tasuki had come into her world. She jumped at the thought of Tasuki. None of them were in her apartment, so that could only mean that one of them was running around on his own. Considering that she was caught injured and carelessly left a trail, she assumed, whoever it was, had gone to her school.

Kaho got out of her bed and bolted out the door to her school, nearly forgtting to lock the door. If it was Tasuki, the mere thought of him burning everything with that fan of his, made her paranoid as hell. Virtual sirens were already ringing through her mind, making her run faster.

"Stupid Friday thirteenth... Stupid, goddamn school..." she grumbled.

Back with Tasuki...

As he followed the trail, he had to cross a road or two. He awed at the surroundings and jumped whenever a car sped by.

Suddenly, the blood trail stopped. Tasuki looked up to see a very large building. In front of him, teenagers were grouped together and laughing.

"Hi there. Are you a new guy?"

Tasuki turned his head to his right. Beside him was a teenage boy around his height. He had a black mohawk on the top of his head and brown eyes. He had his hand out to greet Tasuki, but Tasuki just looked at it.

"Dressed kinda strange, ain't ya? If you change your clothes, you'll fit right in." the teen said.

Tasuki looked at the laughing teens again.

"What happened here?" he asked in a low tone.

The teenage boy didn't seem to notice the tone in his voice and smirked.

"Oh yeah. Since your a new kid, you'll have to know who everyone is. The girls over there," he said and pointed to the four laughing girls at the front of the building, "are the most popular girls in the school. A girl named Misora is their group leader you could say. She's been missing so she's not here today. I want her so don't try anything. The present leader right now, is the girl with the brown ponytail, white tank top and baby blue skirt. Her name's Leiko."

Tasuki stared at him blankly, sweat drop prominent.

"You should also know about one more person." he continued, "She's the worst person we've ever seen at this school. We've tried to get rid of her so many times, but she just won't leave. No matter what we do, she'll ignore it and be perfectly fine the next day. Her name's Kaho. You'll recognize her right away."

Tasuki clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"So the blood..." he said quietly.

"Hers." the teen finished, "You should join us some time. It'll be-"

Before he could finish, Tasuki had punched him in the side of his face, moving the boy to the side and knocking him down.

"What the hell are you doing!" the teenage boy shouted, "I'm just trying to help you choose the right crowd!"

"Ya hurt a friend a' mine... Where I'm from, we don't take that too lightly." Tasuki answered and grabbed the tessen from his back.

"You're a friend of that freak's? Who knew she even had one."

Tasuki turned his attention infront of him. The girls who were at the front of the school, were now before him.

"And just what are you going to do with that? FAN us into submission?" Leiko said and laughed.

By now, the commotion Tasuki had started had grabbed everyone's attention. Tasuki tightened his grip on the fan and ignited it.

"Or maybe he'll scare us with magic tricks." one of the girls taunted.

"Oi, believe me. Ya won't get ta decide whether ya like it or not much longer." Tasuki said, "Just 'cause a person looks and acts different, don't mean ya can treat 'em like shit."

Leiko gave a silent chuckle.

"It's a shame, you know? I might have liked you, but you turned out to be a freak, just like her." she said.

A few students picked up rock or glass shard and hucked them Tasuki.

Tasuki wavedhis fan and anything that was coming his way was burned instantly.

Everyone looked at him in shock. The girls took a step back in fear.

"What... what are you!" one of the girls screamed.

"Why shouldn't I hurt ya'll fer' hurtin' a friend a' mine!" Tasuki shouted angrily, "All a' ya are different! Not one a' ya are the exactly alike! None of ya know how hard 'er life is! What ya've done is unfer'givable! Ya shouldn't even deserve ta live..."

Tasuki swung the tessen over his shoulder. All the boys panicked while the girls screamed.

When Tasuki swung his tessen, a hand from behind grabbed his wrist, putting out the flames and stopping him in his tracks.

"You swing that thing and I'll beat you to a pulp."

Tasuki looked over his shoulder to see Kaho standing behind him. The students gapsed when they realized who was defending them.

'What is she doing?'

'Why?'

'What's going on...?'

Confused thoughts ran through everyone's mind.

"Kaho, let go. These asses deserve what's comin' to 'em." Tasuki said and turned around.

Kaho let go of his wrist, letting it drop to his side.

"Let's go. I need to ask you some things." Kaho said, ignoring his temptation to burn her school mates.

"Don't act like it's nothin'! Ya shouldn't deserve this crap!" Tasuki shouted.

Kaho placed a hand on her hip.

"I don't care." she replied, "If you burn them, they'll connect you to me somehow, some way. If you do something rash, I could get expelled because of you. I can't afford getting into a different school."

Kaho looked from Tasuki to her school mates.

"No matter what anyone says or does to me, my decision. Will. Not. Change." she said sternly, "I'm staying in this school whether you all like it or not."

Kaho looked back at Tasuki.

"Everyone deserves a chance at life..." she said quietly, "Now are you coming or do I have to force you?"

Tasuki placed the tessen back on his back and turned to face the students.

"Ya punks got lucky this time. If ya do it again... better say yer' last words." he growled and walked after Kaho.

"I know you said you'd come and get me if I took too long, but it's only been a day!" Kaho said as they walked.

Tasuki looked at her like she was crazy.

"What're ya talkin' about? It's been two months since ya left!" he replied.

Kaho wore a shocked expression on her face.

"How'd you get here anyway? How come the others aren't here?" she asked, "...Why did YOU have to come?"

Tasuki looked at her angrily.

"Wha'd'ya mean why me!" he shouted and began to ramble.

'Well I can't exactly forget the guy I'm infatuated with, if he's right here with me...' she thought with a sweat drop.

"...and every time I see ya, yer' a bloody mess!" he fumed.

Kaho slapped the back of his head.

"Tasuki! Calm down! Just tell me how you got here!" she yelled.

Tasuki began explaining what happened that caused him to go to her world. By the time he had finished, they were already back at the apartment building. The blood had alreadydisappeared from the floor when they were inside.

'Probably the janitor or something.' she thought.

"Oi, Kaho. We oughtta get back to Konan somehow. The guys'll be wonderin' what happened." said Tasuki.

"Okay, but I want to do something first." Kaho said as she opened the door to her apartment, "You can stay here if you want. I'll be back in a bit."

Kaho picked up her backpack from the floor, then looked at the faint blood on her floor.

'I'll have to clean that up another time.' she thought.

She took outa bracelet and tossed her backpack onto the bed. She reached under her bed and took out a small box. Inside the box was a beautiful, gold necklace. In the centre of the necklace was a small opal, framed with gold and on the back of it was an engraving written horizontally.

It said, "_To my dearest child..._"

"I think I'll tag along." Tasuki answered, curious as to what she was going to do.

Kaho grabbed three bucks from the top of her dresser.

"Let's go then." she said and walked out the door with Tasuki behind her.

The first place they went to was a flower shop. Kaho had purchased one bouquet of flame lilies and one bouquet of white orchids. The next place they went to had different sized stone tablets all over the place. Some tablets lay flat on the ground, while others stood up.

"I-is th-this a g-g-graveyard?" Tasuki stuttered.

A sly smile appeared on Kaho's face.

"Aw... Is Tasuki afwaid of a wittle ghost?" she cooed.

"N-no!" he answered quickly, but stuck closer to Kaho anyway.

Finally, they stopped at two tablets, flat on the ground.

"Here lies Momoku..." Tasuki read quietly, then looked to the one beside it, "Here lies Kazuo..."

"Today's my birthday. Since time was different between our worlds, I thought I had missed it. Today's also the anniversary of my mom and dad's deaths. I come pay my respects every year." said Kaho. But she hadn't the slightest bit of sadness in her voice.

Kaho placed the flame lilies on her mother's grave and the orchids on her father's. Beside the lilies, she placed the necklace down, and the bracelet beside the orchids.

She kneeled down and put her hands together (like a praying position).

"Hey mom. Hey dad. How're you guys doing up there? I'm doing pretty good. I feel a lot happier now. I got you your favourite kind of flowers and I want you to have your heirlooms back. Something from me to you. You remember when I saw you two at Mt. Taikyoku's base? You said that I needed to remember three songs, but I can't remember them. How will I know if I remember the songs you told me about? Tasuki came and took care of me when he saw that I was hurt. I'm in good hands. I'll be going back to Konan soon. See you guys next time." she said quietly.

"Hey, Kaho... what's yer' plan?" Tasuki asked, "I mean... ya can't wish yer' parents back to life..."

Kaho stood up and thought for a moment.

"Well, I promised Hotohori I'd help Konan. You and the others can have the other wishes if you want them. I don't really want anything. Afterwards... I guess I'll come back and finish my education." she answered.

'I wanna stay with Tasuki... but... I'm not sure if I like him like that...' she thought sadly.

Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard him scream and a red light shone behind her. Her eyes widened when she turned around and saw him disappearing into the light.

"What the hell!" he shouted.

Kaho reached out and tried to grab him, but it was too late. He was no longer with her in her world.

'Where did...' she thought and looked around frantically, 'That red light... He's probably back in Konan."

Kaho ran back to her apartment. She packed some clothes into her backpack, then slung it over her shoulder. She thought of the place that had first taken her to Konan and started her adventure. She ran out of her apartment and over to the national library.

She stopped in front of it and looked up at the tall building.

'This is where it all started...' she thought.

Kaho snuck her way through the library and into the Important Documents Reference Room. She looked around for the red book. When she found it, it was on the floor with something beside it. Kaho knelt down and picked it up.

'This is... Misora's watch...' she thought and looked at the book, 'Is she... in the other world?'

Kaho picked up the book and flipped it open.

'_And so, the young man, known as Tasuki, was returned to Konan. Nuriko, Tamahome, and Hotohori gave him a warm greeting and asked him about their priestess...'_ she read.

'Why is it written here...? Is... everything that happened just... a story? Are they... just characters?' she thought in dismay, but quickly pulled herself together, 'They have to be real...They have to be! How else could Tasuki have been in my world... How else...?'

Kaho flipped a few more pages. When she came across a blank one, she flipped to the previous page and read the passage.

_As his majesty, Hotohori, sat at the table in the conference room with his advisors, he grieved for his empire. Miracles were desperately needed, for a war was sure to ensue..._

'What ever path I may take... Whatever road my heart leads me to... Please... let it be the right choice.' she prayed.

Suddenly, a red light emitted from the book, enveloping Kaho and sucking her into it once more...

At the graveyard...

A red light surrounded Kaho's parents' graves. Within the blink of an eye, the necklace and bracelet disappeared...

* * *

More author notes: OMG! I'm so sorry for any errors you guys read. didn't catch my edits I guess... Damn I'm emberassed... Let us hope that never happens again. THANK YOU Noor, for telling me! 


	12. Chapter 12

Author Notes: Yaaaaay! Another chapter. I haven't written a shorter one in a long time. This one is only about...fifteen pages. Once again, Tamahome has no large role, just something incredibly minor. XP I can't help it. Ummm... Yep that's it. On with the chapter!  
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Bird songs were the only cheerful noise near the royal palace of Konan. Within the palace's great conference room, counselors and advisors sat, stiff-backed in their appointed chairs on either side of the long table.

"Oh, my goodness." one said, his voice resigned.

"It's come to this..." a second agreed.

"Your majesty, something extraordinary must have happened to bring this about." the first said.

The emperor sat at the head of the long table, eyes closed with concentration, and chin resting on his folded hands.

"It has beenpeaceful in Konan country for years. Maybe, too peaceful." another counselor stated.

Hotohori touched his creased forehead with one hand, not liking where the conversation was headed.

"But-" he started, but was interrupted by a low vibration sound coming from above him.The sound intensified and ablood-red light filled the room. The counselors gasped when a form began to appear, directly above the head of the emperor.

Screaming, Kaho fell the instant she fully materialized. She gracefully landed, back-end first, upon the emperor's head. Stray, tiny bolts of lightning crackled around her.

"Your majesty!" the counselors cried out in shock, each with his own sweat drop.

Kaho sheepishly smiled from where she had slid to on the floor, hanging onto Hotohori's shoulder with one hand.

"Sorry, Hotohori!" she said.

"K-Kaho!" he acknowledged.

The counselors expressions changed from shock to delight and smiles were evident on their faces.

"The Priestess of Suzaku!" they cried, "She's back!"

Kaho stood up and dusted herself off.

"That's me. Sorry I took so-" she said and gasped as Hotohori embraced her and pressed her close against his chest.

"How I missed you, Kaho!" he whispered in her ear, one hand cradling the back of her head.

'H-Hotohori...' she thought, 'You... You really missed me?'

"You have been away for three months." Hotohori said as they walked out of the conference room and into the outer walkways, "I'm glad you are back."

"Three months?" Kaho repeated in shock.

'I came back not long after Tasuki... I wonder what the time difference between our returns are...' she thought, but her curiosity was interrupted by Hotohori's voice.

"While you were gone, we developed a little problem." he said, "Kaho, I have a request of you as the Priestess of Suzaku."

Kaho gave a nod in reply.

"You must find the other three warriors of Suzaku as soon as possible." he answered and began to explain, "Relations with our neighboring country Kutou has deteriorated. Every year, we send ambassadors with peace treaties."

"I don't understand." Kaho interrupted, "If you send peace treaties every year, why have your relations diminished?"

"Our ambassadors have not returned!" he answered, "In fact, Kutou accuses us of having never sent them in the first place."

Hotohori's face took on a more serious feature and he sighed.

"Their ministers were outraged, and they declared war. They've sought our lands since antiquity." he said sadly.

Kaho clenched her fists.

"War...?" she whispered.

'This is my fault... Going back home was a mistake. I could have used that time to look for the other warriors, but instead... instead... I took a three month rest and ensured a war. What's worse, Misora...!' Kaho thought and realized something, 'Misora!'

"Hotohori! Have you seen a girl with long blond hair, blue eyes, and like me, she's dressed differently?" she asked.

"I haven't..." he answered.

'Then where...' she thought.

Hotohori's hands on her shoulders interrupted her thoughts and brought her mind back to this world.

"Kaho, Konan is not a strong country. Gather the seven warriors of Suzaku quickly! Please!" he pleaded. His voice represented the urgency that was shown on his face.

Hotohori placed his hands back down and sighed.

"I'm sorry to haveto rush you like this, Kaho." he said, "I must return to the conference room. If you need anything, let me know. My advisors and I will be finishing up shortly."

Kaho gave a nod and he walked back into the conference room. Kaho turned and began to run down the hall.

'The power of Suzaku... I've got to find all the warriors and stop the war...' she thought, 'I'll find Tasuki and we'll search together..."

Attracted by the unusual sound of running shoes pounding the palace floor, a lithe, beautifully dressed form stepped out from a room and stared after the girl.

"Kaho!"

Kaho turned around to see Nuriko. Of course, he was still wearing women's clothes. He wore a red, vest-like robe with black and white stripes on the neck line. Underneath that, he wore an orange robe, and underneath that, was a pink frilled shirt. He had his hair up in a bun on the top of his head and a yellow sash around his arms.

"Nuriko!" Kaho acknowledged happily and ran over to him.

"I thought it was you!" said Nuriko.

"Nuriko, have you seen Tasuki?" Kaho asked, "I'm looking for him."

"He's not here." Nuriko answered, "He left with Tamahome a few days ago to Tamahome's home."

Kaho's happiness quickly disappeared and her face became crestfallen.

'I guess I wouldn't have waited for someone this long either...' she thought.

"Hey, Nuriko. Do you mind coming with me to search for Tasuki and Tamahome?" Kaho asked.

"Sure. No problem." Nuriko answered, "But I'll have to change first."

Kaho nodded.

Nuriko walked back into his room and Kaho waited for him outside. After about twenty minutes, the door slid open and Nuriko came out.

Kaho blinked in surprise at Nuriko's change in wardrobe.

He wore a pink tunic with a white color, dark purple pants, and a yellow sash around his waist. His hair was done in a long braid and was hung over his left shoulder.

"I suppose we should tell his majesty." said Nuriko.

Kaho nodded in agreement and walked to the conference room. She walked in and tapped Hotohori on the shoulder.

"Nuriko told me that Tasuki and Tamahome left the palace a few days ago, so I'm gonna go look for them." she said, "Just wanted to tell you before I left."

"On your own?" Hotohori asked worriedly.

Kaho shook her head.

"No, Nuriko's coming with me." she answered and jerked a thumb over her shoulder.

Hotohori looked past her to see Nuriko dressed in men's clothes.

"He looks pretty good in men's clothes, wouldn't you say?" Kaho said with a large grin.

"It's just harder to protect you in women's clothes." Nuriko pointed out.

Hotohori's face reflected his dislike of Kaho's wishes, but he finally closed his eyes and sighed with resignation.

"Very well. But do be careful. There are reports of Kutou spies in the area." he said. He then picked up a red scroll with a brown ribbon around the center and held it up, "Please, take this with you."

Kaho stared down at the innocuous roll of paper.

"What's it for?" she asked.

"It is Suzaku's Universe of the Four Gods. The only clues to finding the remainder of the seven warriors are within this." Hotohori answered, "Taiitsukun will forgive me for giving it to you."

With unsure hands, Kaho accepted the scroll and placed it in her backpack. Her mind was filled with worry and slight fear.

"I shall have a horse prepared for you." Hotohori said and gave the orders to his advisors.

Kaho and Nuriko left the room to help with the preparations. Once they were finished, they mounted the house and left.

Their horse galloped down the dirt road, leaving Konan behind in a cloud of dust. Kaho's arms were wrapped tightly around Nuriko's waist. She was disguised in a loose, beige cloak.

'Of all the times for Tasuki to leave... Did he forget about me?' she wondered, doubt raking her heart, 'After all, I didn't come back 'til a while after he did...'

"I can't believe you came back. Tasuki-kins will be so happy to see you." Nuriko cheerfully commented, unaware of his passenger's thoughts.

Hope creeped back into Kaho's face at his words.

"Ever since you left, he's been out of it." Nuriko said and grinned inwardly at the memory of Tasuki perched on the guard-rails of one of the palace walk-ways, a dazed, lifeless expression on his face, and a bird's nest sitting on top of his head. Then, the time he kept trying to eat a plate, his dumplings forgotten on the table in front of him as his teeth continually chomped down on the porcelain.

"That's a plate." Nuriko had informed him with a sweat drop. But his words had fallen on deaf ears.

Their horse's steady pace had finally left the bleak countryside surrounding the city behind, and the road now wound its way through a brightly lit forest. As if encouraged by their much more cheerful surroundings, Nuriko laughed and continued, "Most of the time, he was wandering around the palace pouting. You should have seen him."

"Really?" Kaho asked, pure shock on her face.

"Yeah. So, you don't have to worry about him." Nuriko answered and grinned.

Kaho pouted.

"Wh-who's worried?" she bluffed.

"He's happier when he's with you." Nuriko teased, "Tasuki's stuck on you."

"He's never shown any sign of it to me. He might be more like a big brother." Kaho insisted, "Besides, he told me that he didn't even like women."

"He probably doesn't want to admit it." Nuriko explained with a humoring grin.

He turned his attention back to their road and gasped. The bright green trees and shrubs that surrounded them had turned dark and gray. The cheerful sunlight seemed to shrink back into the sky, hiding behind the thick, low clouds. The peaceful forest that was so full of life and energy had inexplicably vanished into something dark and twisted.

"Hey, why'd it get so dark?" Nuriko asked, his voice heavy with suspicion.

"Suddenly darkening surroundings is not a good sign..." Kaho commented.

Without warning, the blackness thickened.

"It's getting darker!" she cried with dismay, "Nuriko, are you going the right way!"

Their mount skidded to a stop and reered, screaming in fright. Kaho tumbled over the horse's rump and landed in a crumpled heap upon the ground.

Nuriko calmed the horse as quickly as he could.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Kaho gritted her teeth against the pain and tried to sit up. Her cloak had been cast off by the fall and laid behind her upon the dark, gray grass. She looked up to answer Nuriko and gasped.

A dark and sinister looking figure loomed over her, faceless in the dim light. His hand grasped the handle of a razor-sharp scythe.

Kaho winced as she stood up and took a fighting position.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Who the hell are ya?" he demanded, his voice sharp.

'That voice...' she thought and relaxed a bit, 'Could it be...'

Other men appeared out of the darkness behind the speaker, their torches casting warm orange light upon both of their faces.

The speaker's eyes widened.

"Kaho..." he said softly, shock reflected in his eyes.

She stared back.

"Tasuki..." she whispered.

The two did not move; they stood stiffly, standing face-to-face in the torchlight. Their eyes held each other still. Kaho finally broke from the trance and took a step forward. She took another step, but this time, quicker.

What happened next was something Tasuki did not expect. She had punched the side of his head.

"What the hell was that for!" he shouted. One hand was held up in a fist while the other held the side of his head.

"For not waiting for me to come back!" she shouted.

Tamahome walked out from the men with torches.

"You guys, you guys. Don't cause a scene. You'll scare away my profits." he said.

Nuriko had a dream like expression on his face and one hand was cupping his cheek.

"Love is in the air." he said aloud.

Tasuki and Kaho turned around to face the two.

"Shut up!" they shouted in unison.

"Tamahome. Tasuki. Who are these people?" one of the men asked.

Tamahome and Nuriko walked to join their friends. Tasuki raised his left hand to pat the top of Kaho's head.

"This is Kaho, also known as the Priestess of Suzaku." he said.

The men gasped.

Tamahome pointed at Nuriko over his shoulder with his right thumb.

"This guy's gay." he said and received a smack to the head in reply from Nuriko, "I-I mean, he's Nuriko, one of the seven warriors of Suzaku."

Tamahome looked over at Kaho.

"You know about Kutou, right?" he asked, "Because of that situation, there are suspicious men about. For a fee, I work for these people as a bodyguard until we reach the next village."

Kaho nodded.

"What about Tasuki? It's not like him to act as a bodyguard for random people. Is he getting paid too?" she asked.

Tasuki glared at Tamahome.

"That jerk took my fan. I'm being force ta do this stuff." he said distastefully, "I only get it back once the job's done."

Tamahome leaned over to Kaho and cupped his mouth to her ear.

"And I get his share of the money!" he whispered and grinned. "It's a two for one deal!"

"An' that's just not fair!" Tasuki growled and began fighting with Tamahome.

"But having us around makes them feel relatively safe!" Tamahome said and pounded the left side of his chest, "Protecting these people is the will of the heart! Where's your will?"

Kaho smiled at the two's enthusiasm.

'Tamahome hasn't changed a bit and Tasuki's as rowdy as ever.' she thought happily, 'I'm glad.'

Suddenly, the men's torches sputtered out, sending the clearing and surrounding woods back into the darkness.

The men began to panic.

"What's going on?" Tamahome shouted.

"There's no wind, but the torches are out!" one of the men cried.

"Tamahome! Gimme back the tessen so that I can shed some light on this place!" Tasuki shouted.

"Right!" Tamahome shouted back. He grabbed the tessen from within his tunic and passed it to Tasuki.

Unsure what she could do to help, Kaho stood still. From the darkness behind her, a pair of large hands slowly emerged, fingers spread. They soundlessly moved up on either side of her head and quietly clamped together over her mouth.

Trying to scream around the hands, Kaho was yanked backwards off her feet, and she vanished into the dark forest. One of her hands reached beseechingly towards her three guardians as she was mercilessly pulled away.

Before he could ignite the tessen, Tasuki heard the sound of her muffled cry.

"Kaho!" he cried, and raced after her.

Nuriko and Tamahome's eyes widened when they had realized what had happened and they moved to follow. But a sharp _swoosh_ sound, followed by a bright, multicolored light made their heads whip around to the trees behind them.

Back with Tasuki...

Tasuki ran through the forest, leaping bushes and fallen logs. Too dark to see tracks upon the ground, he desperately searched the trees, looking for a glimpse of the girl or her kidnapper. He paused in a clearing, chest heaving from the effort and fear. He frantically looked from side to side, seeking anything. He tried to quiet his breathing and allowed himself to listen to the silent woods for several heartbeats. But there was nothing.

"Not here..." he whispered.

With Kaho...

She struggled against her captor, but only managed to free her mouth.

She stomped on her captor's foot, causing them to stop moving. Still with her back turned, she bent her leg up and kicked his shins.

'Shins...' she thought, then elbowed her captor in the stomach, 'gut...' she brought her arm up and punched him in the face with the back of her hand, 'nose and...' she whirled around and attempted to kick him where it hurts, 'groin!'

But before she could make contact, her captor had caught her foot. She jumped back and got into a fighting position, glaring at her captor. Her glare was quickly replaced though, with a shocked expression when she saw what her captor looked like.

He seemed to have a small frame, but somehow projected both size and power. His hair was sky-blue and closely cropped to his skull- except for a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and long bangs that defied gravity by curling up and over to one side. He wore a cone shaped, straw hat on his back, secured under his chin with a long, white string. He wore a loose, white shirt and forest green pants. A blue drape with large, white, swirly rings, which resembled bubbles, descended over his left shoulder and was secured around his waist. Around his neck was a necklace of widely spaced fat, green beads. But the most unusual thing that she noticed about him, was his face. His eyes, while expressive, seemed to be closed, and it reminded her of a cat's face.

But something was amiss. When she had touched his face, it did not seem like real flesh. She tensed up again when he stood up straight.

"That coulda hurt, no da. I understand that it's self defense, but..." he said. His voice then lowered to somewhat of a more serious tone, "I guess I should have asked before saving you from those Kutou assassins, Priestess of Suzaku, no da."

Kaho blinked in disbelief and confusion.

'How does he know who I am?' she wondered, 'What's he mean by assassins...?'

"But," he continued, "I wonder what that light was, no da. I better get more information, no da."

He suddenly became small, like an adorable plush toy.

"Be careful. Good-bye, no da!" he said cheerfully. He quickly grasped the brim of his hat with both hands and pulled it down. Without resistance, the straw hat dropped, as if absorbing him until it touched the ground. The hat rolled upon its brim a few times on the grass like a coin before finally laying still.

He had vanished.

Kaho finally relaxed, then leaned forward and took the hat in her hands.

'Who was that nut...?' she pondered and held the hat up to the meager light. She looked inside, but saw that it was empty. She lowered her arms and stared at nothing, still letting the incident sink into her brain.

Tasuki leaped out of the underbrush behind the girl.

"Kaho!" he called out.

"Tasuki!" she acknowledged.

"Are ya okay?" he asked with concern.

Kaho nodded.

"I'm okay, but..." she said and trailed off, her mind becoming incredibly worried.

'More assassins...' she thought. The girl continued to kneel on the damp grass, holding the hat and worrying about what the strange man had said.

"Nuriko!"

Tamahome's distant shout snapped her back to the present. Tasuki leaped away and shot back along his trail with Kaho following behind.

In the clearing, Nuriko and Tamahome were standing with most of the villagers and their backs towards the two. Three of the villagers were lying dead on the ground with a few arrows sticking out of them.

As Kaho looked down, horrified at the dead villagers, she noticed that an arrow was speared through a wrinkle at the bottom of Nuriko's tunic.

'Dead... They're dead...!' she thought and tried to calm herself down.

"Nuriko. Tamahome." she said, her voice quivering, "What happened here?"

Nuriko bent down and yanked the arrow out of his tunic, then crushed it with a clench of his fist. He and Tamahome turned around to face the two.

When they turned around, Kaho noticed a bracelet in Nuriko's right hand and gasped.

"First, Kaho was grabbed," Tamahome started, the graveness in his voice was clearly noticeable, "It happened right after you took after her."

"When you left, we heard something behind us, so we turned around; arrows were coming straight at us." Nuriko continued, "But, before the arrows could hit us, some weird light came out of no where and we couldn't see a thing."

"And when the light finally disappeared, three villagers were dead and a lot of arrows lay on the ground in front of us. That bracelet" Tamahome said and pointed to the bracelet in Nuriko's hand, "and a necklace were floating in mid-air."

"The bracelet acted as if it were a glass to help radiate light, and the necklace was like the power source." he explained, "The gem in the center looked like it was an opal, which would explain the weird light show. That thing glowed for about a minute before falling with the bracelet."

Kaho listened intently to their explanations.

'I know I left them at the cemetery. So, how'd they get here?' Kaho wondered.

"Where... Where's the necklace?" she asked hesitantly.

Nuriko averted his eyes away from her and clenched his left fist.

"I couldn't grab it in time." Nuriko said bitterly, "Another arrow came out from the trees while I was in the air. I managed to dodge it... sort of, but I only managed to get the bracelet. Some guy in black ran off with the necklace."

"A Kutou assassin..." Kaho muttered.

Nuriko was a little surprised when he felt a hand on his clenched fist. He averted his eyes back to see Kaho smiling at him.

"The necklace and bracelet were given to me by my mom and dad, so they're really special to me." she said, "You got one of them, and I'm grateful. So, don't worry about it."

Nuriko's face softened into a smile and he nodded.

Tasuki looked at her. The two objects were given to her from her parents, that he knew, and they were the most important things to her. He knew she wasn't as happy as she was trying to let on, but he also knew she really was grateful for saving one of them.

"Kaho..." Tasuki said, "Are ya gonna be alright?"

Kaho turned to him and nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." she answered.

'What will I do if... you die... Tasuki?' she thought sadly, 'You, Nuriko, Tamahome and these innocent people nearly died because of me... Everything is my fault.'  
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More author notes: I keep thinking Nuriko's a woman XD So hard to remember. I wasn't exactly sure how to describe Chichiri's chibi form, so yeah.


	13. Chapter 13

Author Notes: Yay! Another chapter! Let me tell you about an interesting morning I had. I was in bed right, not wanting to wake up, and then I got a really good idea for a new FY story! But then I got up and cleaned up and then I got too lazy to write it XD I wanna finish this story first, but the thing is, is that by the time I finish this story, my other idea will be long gone by then XD. Lemme know what you guys think I should do okay? Ha ha... everything I do is based on people's opinions XD  
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Peace slowly returned to the night, and insect songs gently moved through the slightly chill air. Stars lit the green land beneath them.

Kaho and the others had managed to make their way to a close by village without anymore problems, and of course, Tamahome received his bodyguard fee from the villagers.

Within one of the humble buildings, Kaho and her warriors sat at a wooden table and were eating their dinner. Kaho's mind was still troubled, but she acted normal as to not make them worry and explained what had happened when she was grabbed.

"...and then he told me that he saved me from Kutou assassins." she said, "He was a really strange guy; had a cat-like face."

Tamahome turned to her, his face troubled.

"Well, it's to be expected, right?" he stated, "As a protector of Konan, our enemies would consider the Priestess of Suzaku a threat and want her eliminated.

Kaho paused her eating with a sick look at what Tamahome's words implied.

Seeing this, Tasuki stood up and slapped Tamahome on his head with the tessen.

"Cheer up, Kaho! We're on yer' side." Tasuki said as he sat down, "If somethin' bad happens ta ya, it'll be over my dead body. So don't worry."

Kaho fought down a blush at his warm statement. She smiled and resumed eating.

Suddenly, the door to the house slammed open.

"Tamahome!" the villager who opened the door cried.

A second man shoved his way beside the first.

"There are some strange people at the west entrance!" he cried.

Tamahome leaped up from his seat in delight.

"What? Another cash opportunity?" he cried eagerly, eyes bright.

Kaho, Nuriko, and Tasuki gave him blank stares, each with their own sweat drop.

Tamahome glanced sideways at Kaho and lightly coughed once into his hand.

"Ahem. I must check on them." he said calmly, "You guys look after Kaho."

He gave a short wave and scurried out to join the man, skipping in eagerness like a child on his way to play with friends.

Nuriko resignedly leaned on his head against his fist, elbow braced on the table. He closed his eyes.

"Kaho, you'd better fix his money-obsessed personality before you look for the other warriors." he said.

"Why's he so stuck on money anyway?" Tasuki groaned.

"I'm sure he's got his reasons. As long as it doesn't interfere with our journey, it's okay, right?" Kaho replied.

Their host, an elderly man with a kind face, stepped forward with a smile.

"Tamahome doesn't ask for much money. Besides-" the man said.

Away at the western entrance...

Tamahome effortlessly dispatched the strangers into an unconscious pile. He leaped on top of thelarge living mound and grabbedthe last two limp men by their shirt collars, one held in each hand.

"I captured thirty baddies. So that's thirty silver mon!" he said and laughed.

Back in the warm house...

"-he's a nice guy." Kaho's host concluded.

"What're you talking about?" Nuriko demanded, "Nice guys volunteer their services. They guard villages for free!"

The old man leaned to one side, his grin growing wider.

"Yeah, but I'm saying it's almost free!" he said.

"Not necessarily!" Nuriko countered, exasperated.

The man finally realized he couldn't change Nuriko's opinion.

"Let's not go further with this." he said, trying to placate Nuriko.

Sitting at the table, the remainder of her generous dinner forgotten, Kaho's eyes gazed out into nothing.

'It could be that he's raising money for his family.' she thought, then glanced at Tasuki. Tasuki had been listening to Nuriko's argument with the old man, 'Speaking of families, Tasuki told me he left his family because he couldn't stand his home anymore. I wonder why it was so unbearable...'

The next morning...

Gentle bird songs danced upon the cool breeze, and the rising sun cast everything in a warm, golden light. Indoors, Kaho lay on her side in her bed. Tasuki was snoring softly in a bed next to her own. In his sleep, he had rotated, so his feet were on the pillow and his head was at the other end of the bed. Beside Tasuki, slept Nuriko, also in a bed of his own and he had Tasuki's foot in his mouth.

Kaho rolled tiredly onto her back, one hand massaging her forehead. Her sleep had been troubled all night, and much of that had been spent agonizing over what she did not know about Tasuki. She didn't want to be forward and pry into his life, but hell, she was curious.

'Why did he leave his family?' she asked herself for the hundredth time.

The sound of activity outside broke through her troubled thoughts.

In front of their borrowed house, a fully-dressed Tamahome was securing two narrow packs on the rump of his mount. He reached over and patted the horse's back as it began to whinny and stamp its hoof in protest.

"Easy." he said, calming the horse down.

Kaho slunk down at the window where she watched. She watched him leave atop his horse, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Kaho stood upright and pushed one of the window shutters fully open.

"Where the hell's he think he's going?" she muttered to herself, "He's not getting away that easy."

She darted back into the room and leaped to Tasuki's bed. She shook him with both hands.

"Tasuki! Tasuki, wake up! Wake up!" she said.

He groaned, and opened his eyes slightly.

"Why're ya wakin' me up... It's so early..." he whined and rubbed his eyes.

He then noticed that his foot was in Nuriko's mouth.

'What the hell...' he thought and pulled his foot out.

"Quit your bellyaching. I gotta wake up Nuriko. Get yourself cleaned up." said Kaho, "Tamahome just left for somewhere. We gotta follow him."

Kaho walked over to Nuriko's bed and shook him with both hands.

"Nuriko! Wake up, Nuriko!" she said and shook him harder, but he continued to sleep. Kaho put her hands on her hips.

Tasuki walked over and looked at the situation.

"I have to wake up an' he gets ta sleep... Where's the fairness in that..." he mumbled.

"He won't wake up." Kaho said in frustration, ignoring Tasuki's remark.

Tasuki took out his tessen and began to poke Nuriko in the cheek with it.

"Oi. Wake up. (poke). Wake up ya gay bastard." Tasuki said grumpily.

Kaho thought for a minute about what to do with Nuriko. She placed her fist in her palm when an idea came to her. (Didn't know how to explain it, so sue me.)

"Tasuki, when I lift up Nuriko's eyelid, I want you to light up the tessen and shine the light in his eye, okay?" she said.

Tasuki nodded.

Kaho grasped one of Nuriko's eyelids and Tasuki shone the tessen's light in his eye.

Nuriko's scream echoed through the air and let's just say Tasuki was no longer inside and there was a human-shaped hole where the window used to be.

Kaho looked outside at Tasuki through the hole. He lay sprawled out on the ground with a dead expression on his face. Kaho climbed out through the hole and grabbed him by his collar.

"Tasuki! Wake up! I don't want to go through this again." she shouted and shook him.

"Owww..." he groaned.

Nuriko climbed out of the hole in the wall and approached the two.

"If I go blind, you know who I'm going to." he snarled, "And why do I have the taste of feet in my mouth...?"

Kaho and Tasuki gulped. They prepared their mounts and left soon afterwards.

Daylight had fully arrived by the time Tamahome and his stalkers had arrived in a second village. The sun's rays gently lit the town with a soft light, reflecting off the shimming rice paddles and bathing the simple houses in a warm glow.

As Tamahome passed by, a man with a hoe slung over one shoulder glanced up and recognized him.

"Tamahome! What brings you back home?" the villager greeted him pleasantly.

Tamahome paused his horse.

"Long time, no see, huh?" Tamahome replied.

Kaho and Nuriko watched the exchange from their own mount stopping a discreet distance behind a tree. Kaho had the stranger's straw hat hanging down her back from his string around her neck.

Tasuki on the other hand, was not watching. He was too busy looking left and right nervously, as if someone was about to jump out behind him.

"Looks like this is Tamahome's home village." Nuriko thoughtfully observed.

Kaho glanced at Tasuki and noticed his nervous state.

"Tasuki, what's wrong?" she asked.

Tasuki straightened up and shook his head.

"N-nothing." he answered, "We'll lose 'im if we don't get goin'"

Kaho glanced at him one more time before turning her attention back to the front.

Tamahome had stopped his horse and dismounted in front of one of the houses. Four small children outside looked up at the arrival, realized who it was, and smiled with delight. They ran to him, arms outstretched.

"Big brother!" they called.

Tamahome gathered them in his arms, his voice arm.

"Shunkei, Chuei, Yuiren, Gyokunan! Was everyone good?" he said happily.

"Yep!" the children replied. The happy children surrounded him, tugging on his clothes and demanding to be hugged again. He laughed and obliged.

Kaho dismounted and stood frozen with amazed fascination. Her eyes drunk in the sight of Tamahome's joyous smile and laughter. She watched him as he entered the house.

"Dad, it's me. I'm back." he called out.

Laying on his back on a thick, low bed, an older man turned his head and gently smiled up at his son. His face, while lined, was still handsome and proud. His hair was gray and it was pulled back in a bun but his small, thin moustache remained a vibrant black. Most remarkable, his eyes were tired but warm, and his voice as he spoke, was full of love.

"Tamahome." he saidand smiled.

Tamahome pulled up a short stool beside his father's bed and returned the smile.

"How do you feel?" Tamahome asked with true concern. Before he could be answered, he reached inside his blue tunic and took out a column of coins, strung together on a loop of rope.

"Look! I've made this much!" he said, pride in his voice.

"I'm fine. Chuei's been taking care of the fields." his father replied.

The younger children gathered close around their father and big brother. The youngest child, Yuiren, did her best to hug Tamahome from behind, her small arms unable to reach around his waist. Her expression was pure joy.

With a grin, Tamahome half-way rose and laid a proud hand on his oldest little brother's head.

"Chuei, you're a good boy." Tamahome said.

Chuei looked to be about eleven years old, and wore his dark blue hair up in a neat bun. He scratched the tip of his nose and gave a sheepish grin in return.

"But I'm no good. The crops won't grow." Chuei said.

"I guess it was a good thing I went to the city." said Tamahome.

His father spoke again, this time gently chastising.

"Tamahome, I'm grateful that you are so concerned about us, but I want you to start thinking about your own happiness." he said.

Kaho, Nuriko, and Tasuki listened from where they were eavesdropping, crouched against the outside wall of the house, underneath a window where they could catch every word.

Kaho stared at the ground. The expressions on her face were both happy and jealous.

'He does this all for his family...' she thought.

"So this is what ya've been up to!"

Kaho turned her head over to Tasuki. She slapped her forehead when she found him climbing through the window.

'The people I'm subjected to!' she thought.

The children ran behind Tamahome.

"Aaaah! A monster!" they screamed.

Tamahome could only blink in surprise. He blink in surprise again when Nuriko stood up and his head was in the window.

'Tasuki's contagious!' Kaho thought grimly and slapped her forehead again.

"Wh-why are you guys here?" Tamahome asked, but didn't wait for the answer, "You guys followed me!

Kaho stood up beside Nuriko and crossed her arms.

"You were just so easy to follow." said Kaho.

Nuriko and Kaho climbed through the window and stood beside Tasuki.

Yuiren tugged lightly on Tamahome's pants.

"Is that girl your wife, big brother?" she asked.

Tamahome, Tasuki, and Kaho stared at the little girl.

"N-no, she's not." Tamahome answered.

"They may deny it, but they've already made it to third base." Nuriko said from his crouched position beside Tamahome's father's bed, who was staring with wide eyes, and nearly experienced a heart attack.

"Nuriko! Smile when you tell your lies!" Tamahome shouted.

Tasuki stood speechless throughout the whole thing.

"So, is she your wife, fang-boy?"

Everyone turned their attention to see an amber-eyed girl with her black hair up in a ponytail. From what they could see in the window, she wore a dark green, commoner's dress and she looked to be about the age of nineteen.

Tasuki stiffened and a look of dread appeared on his face.

"What're ya doin' on this side of town, Ai-ting?... Ain't ya supposed ta be with ma...?" he asked.

The girl waved a finger at him.

"Now is that any way to talk to your sister?" the girl asked, "I was doing an errand for mother when I heard your voice. I haven't seen you in quite a while. You haven't changed a bit, fang-boy."

'S-sister?' Kaho thought in surprise.

Tasuki's sister walked in through the door and grabbed her brother by the arm, then started dragging him outside.

"Wha-what're ya doin'!" he shouted, "Lemme go!"

"I'm gonna take you back home! Mother, father,Fei, Jie-ling, and Xing-chi will be SO happy to see you again!" she answered happily.

"But I don't wanna go back!" he shouted and tried to wrench his wrist free. But as many people know, nothing can stop a determined woman, "Noooooooooo!"

Everyone stared blankly after him. His voice got quieter and quieter and people along the streets began to stare as well. Finally, he was dragged out of sight and they could not hear him anymore.

"Nuriko, shall we go?" Kaho asked, looking over at the lavender haired warrior.

"Hold on! I'll go with you." said Tamahome, "Chuei, take care of everyone in my place."

Chuei's face grew resolute, and he gave a short, determined nod.

"Big brother, you're going already?" his other brother, who looked about seven, asked with disappointment.

Yuiren, Tamahome's youngest sibling at five years old, threw her arms about his legs, desperately hugging him close.

"Don't go, big brother!" she cried. Her light brown hair was up in a bun on either side of her head.

After a moment, he crouched down in front of her.

"I'll bring you a doll next time, okay, Yuiren?" he said softly.

She stared up at him, then threw herself into his chest, tears upon her cheeks.

"I want you more!" she cried.

"It's okay, Tamahome. You stay here with your family." said Kaho.

Tamahome looked up to see a smile on both Kaho's and Nuriko's faces.

"But, what about-" he said.

"Tasuki?" Kaho finished for him, "Don't worry about him. Nuriko and I will handle it."

"Thank you..." said Tamahome.

Kaho nodded and ran out the door with Nuriko to follow the abducted Tasuki. They followed the skid marks he had left behind with his feet and eventually the marks ended up at a small house on the other side of the village.

When they opened the door, they found Tasuki being hugged, or more like crushed, by a woman. Four other women, including the sister they had met, and a man surrounded them.The women and man all seemed to be older than him.

Kaho blinked.

"Ma...! Cut it out! Yer' big breasts are crushin' me!" Tasuki shouted, his voice a bit muffled.

'That's his mother?' Kaho thought, 'So then those must be his sisters and father.'

'Um... Did we interrupt something?" Nuriko asked.

Tasuki finally pulled away from the woman and ran behind Kaho, breathing heavily.

The women finally noticed Kaho's company and ran up to her. They crowded around her; only the man stood and watched with amusement.

"Who are you?" one sister asked.

"Are you Tasuki's woman?" another asked.

"Does that face of his ever scare you?" another sister asked.

"Does he change his underwear every day?" the last sister asked.

"Have ya two had sex yet?" his mother asked calmly, in an accent just like Tasuki's.

The last two questions made Kaho's face blush a beet red.

Tasuki was embarrassed too, of course. His ears were crimson and a line of embarrassment went across his nose.

"Stop embarrassin' me!" he shouted, "We haven't done anythin'!"

Nuriko placed a hand on his shoulder and began to laugh in a shrill tone.

"Are you kidding me?" he said, "This brother of yours doesn't even know the meaning of hygiene!"

Tasuki looked at his so-called "friend" with pure shock and dismay.

"Nuriko, ya gay bastard! Yer' supposed ta be helpin' me, not THEM!" he shouted and jutted a finger at his family.

Kaho just stood there, speechless. She grew more and more embarrassed as Tasuki and Nuriko disputed between themselves. She slowly walked backwards towards the door, nearly stumbling on her own two feet.

"I'll g-go out t-'til you guys a-are done." she stuttered, then opened the door and walked out.

But nobody seemed to hear, since they were still squabbling.

Kaho walked a small distance away from the house. She found her way to a small lake surrounded by forestry. The area was very silent; there were no bird songs nor the sounds of insects.

Kaho knelt down and gazed upon her reflection in the lake's water, the cat-man's straw hat still dangling down her back.

'I still don't see why Tasuki would leave his family.' she thought and smiled to herself, 'I'd love have a real family like that.'

Kaho stopped kneeling and sat cross-legged at the lake's edge. She placed her backpack in front of her and took out the red scroll Hotohori had given her.

'The Universe of the Four Gods...' she thought and unrolled the scroll, 'The only thing that gives clues as to who the other warriors are...'

She gazed upon the Chinese characters written on the scroll. She had learned a little Chinese back home, but it was still hard to decipher the scroll. She recognized the symbols for Hotohori, Nuriko, Tauski, and Tamahome. She looked below them to see the characters for the next warrior.

"Priest and..." she muttered and thought hard about what the next character said, "Mask?"

The feel of the stranger's face came back to her, and she realized something.

'Could that guy be...' she pondered, but was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Is something the matter?"

Kaho quickly gathered up the scroll and put it back in her backpack. She stood up and turned around. She faced a large man with his hair in a bun on the top of his head. He wore village clothes and had a scythe slung over one shoulder.

"Uh... no." she answered, "I was just out for a walk."

Kaho stood for a moment before the air around them started to become uncomfortable.

"Uh... sorry, I gotta go." she said, then picked up her backpack and turned to walk away.

"Aren't you the Priestess of Suzaku?" the man asked and lifted his scythe.

Kaho's eyes widened. She whirled around, only to see the man's scythe coming down upon her.

Back with Tasuki and Nuriko...

"Wha'd'ya mean I-" Tasuki shouted but stopped. An incredibly ominous feeling was racking him. He looked around frantically and realized Kaho wasn't there.

Nuriko noticed the expression on his face and became worried.

"Tasuki, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Somethin's up. I have a weird feelin'." he answered, "Kaho might be in trouble. I'll go an' find Kaho. Ya'd better tell Tamahome."

Tasuki began to run out the door.

"How're you gonna find her if you don't know where she is?" Nuriko shouted after him.

"Instincts!" he shouted back and continued running. Within a few seconds, he was already out of sight.

Nuriko gawked after him.

'He's completely unreliable...' he thought, 'Better get Tamahome.'

Nuriko turned and gave a large smile to Tasuki's family.

"Duty calls. See ya later." he said and gave a short wave, then ran out the door in the direction of Tamahome's home.

When he was within hearing distance of Tamahome's home, he began to call out for him.

"Tamahome!" he shouted, "We've got trouble!"

Nuriko slammed open the door, but was caught off guard at what happened next. Long, white rope shot out from inside the house and wrapped around him. No matter how much he struggled against it, he could not break free. It only made him tangled even more. The rope was very similar to spider web.

Suddenly, the string gave a strong yank and pulled Nuriko inside, and closed the door behind him.

Back with Kaho...

Kaho stared at the scythe, impaled into the ground beside her. In her haste to get away, she had tripped and rolled out of the way to avoid the scythe.

The man chuckled and yanked back the blade, recoiling for a second playful attack. He was obviously enjoying this.

Kaho stood up and got into her fighting position.

"What-what the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

The man ignored her question and struck again, this time from the side. Kaho ran forward and ducked under the blade. When she was right in front of the man, she tried to punch his stomach. But what she hit, was something that was not flesh. It was something completely solid and it hurt her fist.

The man smirked. He turned his unoccupied hand into a fist and punched Kaho's stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her body flying. Kaho's back crashed against a tree and she fell to the ground. The hat pressed between her and the trunk. Kaho placed a firm hand on the trunk and slowly stood up. Her breathing came in gasps as she still recovered from the blow. She glared angrily at his hulking form. Unable to move yet, she could only watch as he stepped forward, chuckling, his eyes narrowing and evil grin growing wider.

He suddenly straightened and swirled his body around for a backhanded slash, the scythe cutting the air behind him as he prepared for the fatal blow. At the apex of his swing, Tasuki's fingers closed upon the smooth sides of the blade, halting its motion before the assassin could hurl it forward again.

The brute gasped.

Tasuki pointed the tessen right in front of his face with his other hand.

"Rekka Shien!" he said in a low tone. Flames erupted from the fan, burning the man and successfully stopping his actions. The man fell back and onto the ground.

"T-Tasuki!" Kaho cried, one hand clutching her stomach.

Tasuki quickly walked over to her.

"Are ya okay?" he asked, "Are ya crazy? Tryin' ta fight someone like that!"

Kaho huffed and glared at him.

"Well how was I supposed to know there were dangerous people here?" she yelled, "I didn't-"

A second man suddenly leaped out from the bushes. He was wrapped in a long black cloak and tight clothing that covered everything but his eyes and above. Kaho and Tasuki yanked about at the sound of him ripping free of the branches. The new man suddenly flung his cloak aside and struck out with one fist, impacting the ground where Kaho had stood only a moment before. Blue lightning sizzled around his arm, sending dirt and rocks flying.

Kaho and Tasuki staggered backward from the debris, arms raised to protect their heads. The man stood and ominously stepped towards Kaho. Kaho took a step back.

"Stop!" she pleaded, knowing she would not be able to dodge any blow coming to her.

The man suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in shock.

Kaho turned her head left, right and then front again.

'What the hell is this!' she wondered in amazement.

Two large arms had appeared, one reaching forward on either side of her head. They were held straight and next to each other, palms facing the second assassin. In a fluid motion, the hands moved to hover over one another, and with a muted shout, yellow light blasted forth from them, right in front of Kaho's astonished nose.

The beam knocked the new assassin from his feet.

Kaho's expression was pure shock and her mouth was held a gape.

"What the hell was that?" Tasuki exclaimed, "It didn't even touch 'im!"

The assassin twisted about in the air and landed on his feet, a distance back, in front of the fallen man with the scythe. He glared at Kaho for a split second before he picked up his fallen comrade and leaped away with an angry, frustrated noise.

The straw hat floated out from behind Kaho's back, the two arms retreating back within its dark interior. It fell upon its side, lifeless upon the ground. Silence, then the sound of metal jingling danced to their ears, and a tall form emerged from the hat's dark interior. He effortlessly rose through the air, holding a staff topped with two heart-shaped metal loops, one atop the other. The lower heart held four small, round rings that dangled from it, chiming with each movement.

The cat-faced man Kaho met in the forest had reappeared.

Tasuki leaped in front of Kaho and took a defensive position. He glared suspiciously at the new man, but Kaho watched him with curiosity.

"Gee, that was a close one, no da." the man said.

"You're that weird, cat-faced guy from before, aren't you?" Kaho asked, surprised.

"Yer' the one who told 'er that Kutou assassins were after 'er, right?" Tasuki demanded.

The man nodded once, his face still a perfect study of pleasantness. Kaho narrowed her eyes at the man's face, still deciding whether he was a warrior or not.

"Who are ya?" Tasuki snapped, "Are ya even human?"

The other's expression become a bit piqued at Tasuki's snide remark.

"Now, is that nice, no da?" the man commented, "I'm just a drifter, no da."

The man lightly placed his fist in his palm and the expression on his face looked as if he remembered something.

"Do you remember that light in the forest?" the man asked, facing Kaho.

Kaho thought for a second, then nodded.

"Well, supposedly, something like that couldn't have happened unless two or more people cared deeply for another and channeled their energy through a sort of medium to create something strong enough to stop the movements of anyone or any thing, no da." he explained, "She said it was a one-time only thing that the gods permit, no da... (Will fix up explanation later.) But she didn't say who they were... no da..."

But Kaho did not need names. She already knew who they were.

Kaho looked to the sky and said a silent, "Thank you."

Tasuki realized something and quirked an eyebrow. The strange man kept saying "she", but who was "she"? But before he could ask his question, the man had already started walking towards the village.

Twice now, this strange, magical man had saved Kaho. If he were an enemy, he would have no doubt left her to die. If not by the arrows from the night before, then surely by one of the stream side assassins. Tasuki and Kaho looked to each other and nodded, deciding to trust him, at least until given a reason that they should not. The three began to walk back to the village.

As they proceeded, the newcomer began to speak.

"I advised her well, so you should have felt the presence of the enemy in the village, no da." he chastised, then made certain his audience knew whom he was addressing, "Tasuki."

Tasuki abruptly stopped, his expression growing hard. He glared at the man and clenched his hands tightly.

Kaho noticed his expression and paused herself.

"You shouldn't criticize him for something he's not experienced in." she said sternly, then continued, but with a calmer expression and voice, "Thanks... for driving them away."

The man also stopped, and he slowly removed his hat. He turned to watch them from the side of his eyes.

"It's a bit soon to say that, no da. To tell the truth, I have a bit more advice, no da." he said.

Kaho waited patiently, her eyes staring at the ground before her.

"Priestess of Suzaku... make your actions responsible, no da." he said.

Kaho looked up at him, hurt upon her face.

He turned to face the village, his back towards the girl. He lifted his staff upwards and thrust the end of it into the ground, sending the four rings upon its large circle jingling once more upon the air.

"Otherwise, there will be victims because of you, no da." he finished.

Kaho's heart pounded in her ears, her blood rushing painfully through her body. With horrid detail, the sight of the few dead men Tasuki and Tamahome had been protecting only the day before slashed through her mind.

The sudden sound of a scream pierced into the girl, snapping her out of the memory. She gasped when she realized she knew that voice. She had already heard it twice in the past few days.

'Nuriko!' she thought.

"Big brother! Big brother!" the faint voices of children carried upon the breeze.

Tasuki stepped forward, worry creasing his face.

"That came from Tamahome's home!" he said and quickly began to run down the path.

Kaho clenched her fists, worry upon her face.

With a sigh, the cat-faced man placed his straw hat back upon his head.

"See what I mean, no da..." he commented with resignation.

Kaho clenched her fists tighter, making her knuckles go white.

"Thanks for the advice. I know you mean well." she said, but then began to mutter, "You've made your own mistakes. Isn't that why you wear a mask?"

The last thing she muttered was what really caught his attention. But before he could ask, she had already taken off after Tasuki. He stared after her for a moment before putting it aside and running down the path as well.  
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(mutilated Tasuki plushie on ground) I remember when Chichiri appeared... He was a jerk... XD Tasuki's like, VERY Tamahome now. Don't you think? (sigh) But there's nothing I can do now. Far too late into the story. Hope you liked it. (You suck Noor.)


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own FY. But the storyline and original characters belong to ME! That's right, ME! No tables were harmed in the making of this chapter. Although my knee was.

Author Notes: WHOA. Sorry for such a long delay on the story. It's not that I don't have time... It's just that I'm too lazy. Anyway, I gave Tasuki's sisters names so that I can refer to them instead of just his sisters... which gets irritating. I'll have the other sisters' descriptions and names in this chapter too, so you don't have to look back. I decided to give his mom an accent too. SOMEBODY'S gotta have an accent like his, where would he get it from? This is the longest chapter I've written so far, enjoy.  
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As they tore into the house's yard, one of the children's voice reached them again, crying pitifully.

"Help! Big brother!"

Tasuki ripped open the door and surveyed the interior, Kaho pounding up behind. She stopped, gasped, and widened her eyes in horror.

Tamahome, his family, and Nuriko were strung through the room by wide streams of white cloth. They were stretched out with their arms and legs pulled tight, all of them dangling from the roof and walls. Over and over, the children screamed for their big brother, eyes screwed shut with terror.

"Kaho! Tasuki! Get out of here!" Nuriko yelled from where he was trussed.

The ninja assassin loomed in front of the captive friends and family, his eyes crinkled with a faint smile.

"Hold on! I'll get rid of those ropes!" Tasuki shouted and brought his fan up. "Rekka-"

But before he could finish the words, the assassin threw forward the same ribbon-like ropes he had used to string up the others and wrapped it around the tessen and pulled it out of Tasuki's grip. Quickly after the tessen, the ropes snapped around Tasuki's body, pulling him forward, and painfully tightening as they strung him up in the air. Tasuki gritted his teeth and struggled to get free, his eyes flaming.

"Tasuki!" Kaho cried from the doorway.

The assassin slowly began to draw his sword from its scabbard.

"Now, Priestess of Suzaku..." he growled, "If you want these people to live, you'll come quietly and allow me to kill you!"

He yanked the blade free, then whirled it through the air to brandish it in front of his face.

"Now, be a good girl." he said.

Kaho met his evil gaze, her eyes reflecting the uselessness she felt. The cries of Tamahome's family echoed through her ears.

'He made hostages of a man on his sickbed and four little children!' she thought, 'It's my fault... I'll set it straight.'

Kaho's expression hardened. She took one step forward, then another.

"Kaho, don't!" Tasuki shouted.

She resolutely walked towards the assassin, ignoring Tasuki's pleas for her to stop. Her eyes were dark and condemning.

With a musical jingle, the cat-man appeared in front of her, halting her progress. He crouched low, staff confidently held in one hand.

The assassin took a step back.

Kaho stepped to the side and raised an eyebrow at him.

'What's he doing?' she thought.

He raised his free hand in front of his face, thumb hooked through his necklace, and with a meaningless sound, flicked his fingers stiff. The white ribbons constraining Tamahome, his family, Tasuki, and Nuriko abruptly vanished. With a resounding thud, they all smacked onto the wooden floor.

"Ha ha!" Tasuki shouted from his place on the floor and raised his fist in victory, "Freed!"

"Damn!" the assassin snorted. He brandished throwing spikes, and threw them forth.

"Take this, no da!" the cat-man said and spun his staff about, deflecting the blades away. One managed to get past him and struck his knee, splitting the cloth and leaving a gaping hole in his leggings. Red light burst forth from his skin, shining brightly in the pattern of a glowing character.

Kaho gaped.

'A Chinese character on his knee! He's another warrior of Suzaku! I knew it!' she thought.

In a corner of the room, Tamahome's siblings ran to him and tightly clung to his legs, still crying for him. He gently hugged them close. The assassin realized his situation and scowled, then tried to run.

Nuriko reached forward with one hand and grabbed his arm with an iron grip.

"I don't think so." he said. Nuriko yanked the man backwards and twisted his arm behind him. The assassin screamed in pain.

"We have a few questions for you." Nuriko said with forced charm, "First, how many Kutou assassins are in Konan for Kaho?"

Tamahome, Kaho, Tasuki, and Suzaku's fifth warrior watched, silent. Suddenly, Tasuki sensed something ominous.

"Watch out!" he shouted and threw himself over Kaho. Arrows shot into the room, piercing the assassin's back. The man writhed for a moment, then fell to the floor.

Nuriko stood frozen, an arrow speared neatly through a wrinkle in his pink sleeve.

The fifth Suzaku warrior turned to Tasuki, once more smiling.

"Not bad, Tasuki! You felt the presence of the enemy, no da! I must give you credit, no da!" he said.

"Aaah... Anybody coulda done that!" Tasuki replied and laughed.

Nuriko loomed over them, fangs bared. He yanked out the arrow and snapped it within one very angry fist.

"Maybe somebody could have protected me!" he shouted angrily.

A slow laugh interrupted them. Everyone turned to the assassin lying upon the floor, life slowly seeping from him.

"Heh heh... (Cough). You... guys are... nothing!" he said and chuckled with pain. He shifted his head a little, as if to look at someone. "Another will be... sent to... kill your family... We'll find... the Priestess of Seiryu... and then... your country will be... finished...! (Cough)"

'The Priestess of Seiryu!' Kaho thought. She quickly walked over and knelt beside the man.

"Hey! Who's the Priestess of Seiryu? What's her name? Answer me!" she said, clenching a fist.

Tamahome put a hand on her shoulder, ceasing her shouting. She looked at him and he shook his head. It was no use. The man was dead.

Kaho turned her head back to the man and thought for a moment.

'So another assassin is going to come here?' she thought. But something was amiss. 'The assassin turned his head before saying it would happen, so he wasn't facing Tamahome at all... It seemed like he was saying it to...'

Kaho shot up, her face filled with horror at the realization.

'But if I'm wrong... We need someone to stay here.' she thought.

Nuriko noticed the look on her face and became worried.

"Kaho, what's the matter? Are you worried about what that guy said?" he asked, "Don't worry. We'll all be here and make sure nothing happens to this family."

Kaho turned fully around to face him, her face serious.

"I'm not so sure he meant Tamahome's family." she said.

Tasuki walked over and put his hands on his hips.

"What're ya talkin' about? The guy said so 'imself!" he said.

"He did, but when he said that, I think he was facing you." she replied.

Tasuki's expression grew heavy at the realization of what she was saying.

"So then... it's my...?" he said, "Are ya sure?"

Kaho nodded.

The cat-man walked over and joined the conversation.

"It's true. I believe he was looking at you, too, Tasuki." he said.

Tamahome walked over as well.

"So then, we've all got to go to Tasuki's" he said.

Kaho shook her head.

"No, Tamahome. You stay here. We could be wrong and then your family would be in trouble." she said, "It's my fault in the first place. If your family was in danger again, I'd never forgive myself."

At first, Tamahome wanted to protest against it, but decided it would be better this way, and nodded.

"Oh, and one more thing." the blue haired, cat-faced man said, "You can call me Chichiri, no da."

Kaho nodded.

"Let's go." she said and ran out the door, everyone but Tamahome following behind her.

As they neared the house, women screams resounded through the air. Hearing this, Tasuki quickened his pace.

The minute they arrived at the front door, Tasuki slammed the door open. In the middle of the room, another cloaked man stood there. He had Ai-ting captive with an arm around her neck and a sword held to her throat. (Ai-ting's the first sister I introduced in the previous chapter).

To the right of the assassin was the rest of Tasuki's family. They stood in fear; his father was huddled in a corner of the room.

"Ya bastard!" Tasuki shouted angrily and held out his fan to burn the assassin.

The assassin held the knife closer to Ai-ting's neck.

"Uh, uh, uh." he said tauntingly, "Don't want to hurt the lovely lady, now, do we?"

Tasuki scowled and lowered his weapon.

"Priestess of Suzaku, come here. Only when you are dead will this woman go free." the assassin said.

Tasuki whipped his head about to face Chichiri.

"Chichiri, can't ya do somethin'?" he asked.

Chichiri nodded and hooked his finger in his necklace again, but Kaho turned and shook her head.

"This guy doesn't have those ropes like the other one did, so it's no problem." she said, "If you guys go and do something, I doubt he'll hesitate to kill her."

"We can't exactly let ya get killed either." Tasuki said.

Kaho waved a hand at him.

"You worry too much. I'll be fine. Besides," she said and cracked her knuckles, "these guys are pissing me off."

A sudden sense of impending doom ran through everyone, except the assassin, the minute she said that, and they shuddered.

"You be careful, now, Kaho." said Nuriko.

Kaho turned back around and started walking towards the assassin, her face unwavering.

When Kaho stood in front of him, he pushed away Ai-ting and lunged at Kaho. Kaho merely stood her ground and delivered a swift, but powerful punch to his face. The assassin fell back and landed on the wooden ground with a loud thud. As she moved towards him, he gripped the hilt of his sword and tried to impale her with it. But Kaho moved to the side and gripped the flat faces of the sword, then yanked it out of his grip. She paused a moment to thrust the sword into the ground. Once that was done, she stood in front of the assassin.

"Just what was that supposed to do, huh?" she demanded and began to give soccer-like kicks to his side, "Where do you get off (kick) holding hostages (kick) then trying to kill me? (Kick)"

Everyone stared blankly at Kaho, sweat drops prominent.

"She never ceases to amaze me..." Nuriko commented, "Remind me to NEVER get on her bad side."

"Sh-she's q-quite the priestess we've got, n-no da." said Chichiri.

"Y-yeah." agreed Tasuki.

"Shouldn't we... stop her?" Nuriko asked, "I mean, we have questions for the guy, right? She's gonna knock him out."

"Yeah... I guess. But I'm afraid ta go." Tasuki admitted.

"What if she turns on us, no da?" Chichiri muttered.

Tasuki and Chichiri looked at each other and shuddered.

Nuriko carefully made his way to Kaho.

"...and you guys aren't (kick) even good (kick) at your jobs! (kick)" said Kaho.

Wrapping his arms under hers, he hoisted her up. Kaho squirmed wildly, trying to break free.

"Kaho, I think you've had enough fun for one day." Nuriko said in a calming tone, "You gotta let other people have their turns."

Kaho squirmed a little more. She realized she couldn't break free and hung her head in defeat.

"Oh, all right..." she muttered.

Nuriko grinned and let her down. He then stood in front of the assassin and winded his foot back.

"How many assassins are after Kaho?" he asked.

The assassin looked Nuriko in the eye, but did not answer him. Seeing this, Nuriko began to unwind his kick.

"NO (no da)!" Tasuki and Chichiri shouted and ran to Nuriko. Both of them grabbed his arms and dragged him away.

"If she'll knock 'im out, ya'll probably kill 'im with YOUR strength!" Tasuki shouted, then felt the same ominous presence as when they were at Tamahome's house, "Kaho, move yer' ass away from that guy! Don't ask questions!"

Kaho blinked, but did as she was told.

As soon as she had moved, arrows shot into the room and pierced the assassin. Unlike the other assassin, this one had no words to spare and died immediately.

Kaho stood frozen, her back against the wall. An arrow had speared through her hair, right beside her face.

Tasuki let go of Nuriko and rushed over to Kaho. At the absence of Tasuki's support, Chichiri couldn't hold Nuriko up, so he dropped him.

Kaho pulled her hair away from the arrow to see Tasuki's worried face just above hers.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." she said, trying to cease his worry.

Ai-ting ran over to Tasuki and Kaho and tightly hugged them both.

"Oh, little brother! You've found yourself a wonderful woman!" she said happily, "I thought I was going to die! Thank you much for saving me... er..."

Ai-ting released the both of them and looked at Kaho.

"What's your name?" Ai-ting asked.

"It's Kaho." Kaho answered, "I'm sorry for the attacks. I guess since I'm the Priestess of Suzaku, people are gonna be after me and they'll do anything to get me."

Surprised faces ran amok through Tasuki's family. His family, once again, crowded around Kaho, including his father, who had calmed down a bit.

"What an honor it is to have the Priestess of Suzaku in our home!" said his mother.

"How did you ever get such an important woman to be yours, fangy?" Ai-ting asked in awe.

Kaho and Tasuki blushed.

"Shaddup! I told ya, she ain't mine!" he shouted.

"Calm down, calm down everyone." said his father. "Miss Kaho, won't you stay here for a while? It's very gracious of the Priestess of Suzaku to visit such a run-down house."

Tasuki's father held out a trembling hand. Kaho looked at the hand, but her face showed worry.

"I mean no offense, but… that assassin scared you out of your wits!" she exclaimed, frowning, "If I stayed, I'd be putting you and your family in danger."

Tasuki's father smiled, but continued to hold out his hand.

"Don't worry, I'm always like this. I may be a coward, but I know how to thank strangers for saving my family." he said, but still saw the uncertainty on Kaho's face. "Your warriors are fairly strong. You yourself are strong. I am positive my son will let no harm come to you and his family."

Kaho looked to Tasuki, who had looked away with a pout on his face. Finally she gave in to the old man's reassuring words and shook his hand with a smile.

After everything was settled, and after introductions were made, everyone resumed what they had been doing. Nuriko and Kaho sat with Chichiri at a table, while Tasuki quickly went to Tamahome's to tell him everything.

Fei had beige colored hair which was put up in two, long pigtails on either side of her head that reached down to her ankles and golden eyes. She wore a lavender dress that was decorated with flowers all over it. She looked to be eighteen.

Jie-ling had chin-length, red hair and hazel eyes. She wore a red dress with yellow vertical stripes. Jie-ling looked like she was twenty.

Xing-chi had shoulder length, auburn colored hair and tiger brown eyes. She wore a plain brown dress with a flower decorated neckline. She looked to be nineteen.

"I still can't believe you're a Suzaku warrior, mister cat-guy." Nuriko said.

Chichiri laughed.

"Well I am and the name's Chichiri, no da. So you can stop calling me cat-guy, no da." he said and chuckled, one finger cheerfully pointing upwards to mark his point.

Nuriko became puzzled when he noticed a fold of skin on Chichiri's lower left cheek that had been almost sliced away. It dangled bloodless from his face like a small bit of serrated apple peel.

"Hey, Chichiri… Your skin is coming off. Are you okay?" he asked, leaning forward.

Chichiri cocked his head to one side, fingered the loose bit of skin, and laughed.

"Gosh, that's no problem!" he said and laughed again. He reached to hold his face in one hand, grasped, and pulled down. His face popped off, revealing a second-undamaged layer. "I got a spare, no da!"

Nuriko jerked back, sweat drops appeared, and he promptly fell onto the floor in shock. He laid there for a moment before he recovered, climbed to his feet and sat back next to Kaho at the table.

Nuriko noticed that Kaho was not surprised in the east and became curious.

"Hey, Kaho. How come you're not surprised? Did you know already?" he asked.

Chichiri, now, too, became curious.

"Yeah, how did you know I wore a mask, no da?" he asked.

"Well… You remember when you "saved" me from the assassins in the forest and when I hit your face?" she asked and Chichiri nodded, then realized how she knew, "Well, I didn't exactly feel flesh, ya know what I mean?"

Chichiri nodded.

"What did you meanby whatyou said to me before we got to Tamahome's house, no da?" he asked.

Kaho smiled.

"For now, let's just call it women's intuition." she answered.

Nuriko reached over and patted Kaho on the back with his right hand, a smile on his face.

"We found the fifth warrior, Kaho! We did it!" he said, gripping her shoulder with pleasure at the completion of their next step.

"Yeah." Kaho replied softly.

Nuriko leaned close to her and suspiciously eyed Chichiri.

"But this guy's a bit strange." he commented, not really trying to keep his voice low.

Sweat drops appeared on both Kaho and Chichiri.

"Better than being a gay boy, no da." Chichiri replied.

Not denying anything, Nuriko straightened with another grin.

Kaho smiled as well. Her posture was quiet, but her mind rolled in turmoil.

'I'm happy we found another warrior, but...' she thought.

"Oh, yes. That reminds me, no da." Chichiri said aloud.

Kaho and Nuriko looked to Chichiri. Just as he was about to speak again, Tasuki came through the door and walked to the trio at the table.

"What cha guys doin'?" he asked and took a seat beside Nuriko.

"I was just about to talk to them about Kutou, no da." Chichiri answered, then continued what he was saying before.

Nuriko, Tasuki, and Kaho listened to Chichiri's words about Kutou for what seemed like an hour. At the end, everyone straightened and stretched. Nuriko cradled his chin in both hands.

Tasuki turned to Chichiri.

"So Kutou has a similar myth with seven constellations?" he asked.

"That's what I'm hearing on my travels, no da." Chichiri answered, "I heard that Kutou knows Konan has found their Priestess of Suzaku, and is desperately searching for their own Priestess of Seiryu, no da."

"Then that means if Kaho can get the power of Suzaku an' have 'er wishes come true... then so could the Priestess of Seiryu." Tasuki said, stating the obvious conclusion.

Chichiri nodded.

Nuriko pensively studied the grain of the wooden table.

"That makes sense. Way back when, that old hag Taiitsukun gave The Universe of the Four Gods to the emperors of all four countries." he said.

"But to look for a priestess..." Kaho trailed off for a moment, trying to find a train of thought, "She has to be from another world..."

Kaho's brows knitted together at the realization.

'If Misora were found in Kutou, knowing her, she'd volunteer to be priestess...' she thought.

A vision of Seiryu cut through her mind. The god was an immense snake-like dragon, and it burned with a cool, blue intensity. Wiry hair flowed down the length of its twisting back in a billowing mane. But its face- its expressionless face seemed without mercy or emotion; its teeth long and lethal knives.

Misora appeared under the dragon and turned to smile evilly at Kaho before her image shattered as Seiryu struck, convulting in the air.

Kaho foresaw the possible future and her face became troubled.

"Misora..." she muttered.

Nuriko cocked one eyebrow at the immobile girl, wondering at her troubled eyes and dazed expression. He leaned to her.

"What's wrong, Kaho? What's with the face?" he asked her.

Kaho snapped awake. She jerked herself upright and forced a small smile.

"I-it's nothing. I guess I'm still worked up over all this." she answered, "I'm gonna go out for a walk."

With that, she stood up, snatched up her backpack, and walked out of the house.

The three warriors stared after her, amazed at her unexpected departure.

Kaho strode down the path to the lake where she had encountered the first assassin. She bent down at the lake's edge and gazed her reflection. She took out the elastic from her hair, picked a random lock of hair and held it up to her eyes.

'If I can pretend to be the Priestess of Seiryu for a while, maybe I can get some info to help Konan... and while I'm there, I'll get back my necklace.' she thought, 'But if Misora's already there, she'll reveal me as her enemy... so I've got to change my appearance.'

Kaho dug into her backpack and pulled some clothes out. Just to make sure nobody could see, she ran behind some bushes and quickly changed.

When she finished, she walked out of the bushes and back to the lake to dig into her pack again.

Kaho had changed from her dark clothes to much brighter ones. She changed her skull etched, purple shirt to a long sleeved shirt with aqua blue sleeves from the shoulder, down, and white body, and her chained gray pants to blue jeans and a brown belt.

From her bag, she pulled out three hair pins. Kaho leaned over the lake to get a mirror reflection of herself. Turning her head to the side a little, she put her hair in a bun and put the pins in to hold it in place. Turning her head from side to side, she made sure the red tips of her hair were perfectly hidden.

Satisfied with her hair and clothes, she then turned her attention to her eyes. She thought hard about what to do about this problem. Contacts would probably be hard to find in this day and age, so that was out. Thinking a little more, she finally came up with a solution.

'I'll just have to play it blind.' she thought, 'Not gonna be easy. But since when do I let difficulties stop me.'

Taking one last look in the lake to make sure everything was okay, she packed up and continued her way to Kutou.

'I have to go to Kutou alone. If I keep relying on Tasuki, I'll keep putting his family in danger...' she thought and started running, 'Forgive me.'

In the palace of Konan...

Hotohori knelt before the great gilded statue of Suzaku within his palace's temple room, his hands pressed together and his eyes closed. Burning incense scented the air around him, its smoke dancing around his motionless form. His eyes suddenly opened, and he straightened.

"Something ominous has happened." he muttered and narrowed his eyes. "I hope Kaho is safe."

Quickly, he bent again, worry focusing his thoughts once more.

'Suzaku, our divine guardian... Please protect your daughter, Kaho, the one chosen to acquire your powers and to protect my country.' he prayed.

He paused, troubled, then silently spoke to the girl, his muted pledge unwavering.

'Kaho, if I were free like the others, I would always be with you. I would give my life to protect you.' he thought. Overcome with emotion, his voice escaped into dark, scented air. "I only hope you are safe."

Back with Tasuki and the others...

Tasuki sat at the end of the table. He had an annoyed look upon his face and he was tapping an impatient foot.

"It's gettin' late! Where the hell is she?" he shouted, annoyance clearly in his voice.

Chichiri raised his gaze from the table to stare up at the ceiling. He carefully focused his thoughts before speaking.

"Gee, when she left, I heard her say something about "Misora", no da." he said.

Tasuki and Nuriko looked to each other in shocked recognition. Tasuki looked back at Chichiri.

"Yer' sure it was "Misora", Chichiri?" Tasuki asked.

Chichiri sat back and crossed his arms.

"Come to think of it, her demeanor changed while she was listening to us, no da." he said.

Tasuki's eyes widened.

'Misora... She's the wench who gave Kaho that scar on 'er hand.' he thought, remembering the memories of Kaho he saw, 'Could she be in this world, too?'

With a gasp of realization, Tasuki thrust himself up from the table.

"Don't tell me she's gone to- SHIT!" he said aloud. He whirled on one foot and leaped for the door.

"Tasuki!" Nuriko started with surprise.

Tasuki paused, framed in the doorway, to look back at the other two warriors.

"Nuriko, Chichiri, look after my family, will ya?" he said and vanished out the door, closing it behind him.

"Wait!" Nuriko shouted, jumping to his feet in puzzlement. "What's he planning to do?"

Chichiri stood with a grin, his hand on the brim of his straw hat.

"Looks like I'll have to check this out, too, no da." he said. As he spoke, he pulled the hat down, vanishing inside once more.

From her spot on the fields in front of the house, Tasuki's mother looked up to see her son running from the house.

"Tasuki!" she called out, "Where do ya think yer' goin'? Come an' help with the crops!"

Tasuki continued running and acted as if he heard nothing.

"TASUKI!" she shouted louder, her voice booming.

Tasuki stopped and whirled around, his face showing the little patience he had left.

"Look, ma! There's somethin' I gotta do an' I ain't got no stinkin' time fer' a fuckin' chore!" he shouted, then turned and ran again.

His mother blinked in surprise. She wasn't surprised at the words her son had spoken to her, but the look in his eyes as he did. She knew that look anywhere.

Smiling happily to herself, she continued to hoe the fields.

Tasuki flew down the eastern road that meandered away from the village. His feet angrily pounded the packed earth, each step fueled by frustrated belief. The humble houses and rice paddles quickly fell behind as the road carried him into the rocky foothills.

Back with Kaho...

Far ahead of Tasuki in a treed valley filled with green plants and birdsong, Kaho stood before a man with a hoe slung over a shoulder, having stopped for directions.

"Kutou?" the man repeated and blinked once. The girl's question was as unexpected as her strange attire.

Kaho nodded.

He watched her for a moment more, shifted his grip on the hoe slung over his shoulder, and decided it was better not to delve. With his free hand, he pointed down the road.

"It's over that way. The forest over there's a short cut." the man said and lowered his arm.

Kaho turned towards the direction he indicated, her mind busy.

'I've got to get far away before they notice.' she thought.

Kaho turned and quickly smiled back to the man.

"Thank you." she said, then briskly resumed her journey.

The man resumed his walk to the village. Suddenly, he realized something, stopped, and turned.

"Oh, missy! That forest is a death trap!" he shouted to Kaho. But it was too late. She was already at the forest's edge.

Back with Tasuki...

"Kaho!" Tasuki shouted, his voice boomed through the foothills as he ran, his face creased with worry. Trees began to dot the rocky landscape, restricting his view and making him more frantic.

"Kaho!" he called out again. Worry spurred him until he met a fellow traveler on a suspension bridge over a statuesque waterfall. he skidded to a halt, took in the man's shouldered hoe and dusty clothes, and immediately asked about the missing girl. At the man's answer, Tasuki shouted over the roar of the falls, dismay in his voice.

"What? Ya told 'er of the forest way?" Tasuki asked.

"Yes." the man answered. His face suddenly became crestfallen and guilt stricken. "Unfortunately, I completely forgot about its dangers. When I called out to her, she was too far away, so she couldn't hear."

Tasuki's eyes widened.

"How come ya didn't go after 'er!" he shouted.

The man, with his free hand, scratched the back of his head.

"I was too afraid." he admitted.

Tasuki leaped around the farmer and tore across the bridge. This was possibly the fastest he had ever run in his entire life.

Back with Kaho...

Small patches of light managed to filter their way through the dense trees of the forest, salting the darkened road. The strange calls of birds seemed to announce her presence, heralding the approach of an unescorted and vulnerable traveler to any who might care to listen.

Kaho's pace slowed until she halted, uncertain. She peered from side to side, trying to see through the dim.

'Sure is creepy.' she thought.

Suddenly, her ears caught the faint sound of movement in the brush behind her. Kaho jerked around to stare into the blackness. Her face froze in shock as a giant tiger stalked forward on to a stone ledge above her, its body tense and snarling.

Remembering that she had left the village without any of her warriors, Kaho began to panic.

'Crap, crap, CRAP!' she thought, then remembered something, 'Wait... animals can sense fear. If I can calm myself enough, maybe it'll go away... Hopefully.'

She choked down her screams and tried to calm herself, slowly breathing in and out.

With a roar the tiger leaped at the girl.

Kaho took in a sharp, deep breath and scrambled away.

'Too calm! Too calm!' she thought. Her fear was quickly being overcome with anger.

"I bet you'd eat me whether I was calm or not, huh!" she shouted, "I dare you to try it, you stupid cat!"

To emphasize her point, Kaho picked up a random twig and threw it at the tiger. With another roar, the tiger leaped again. Kaho whirled around and began to run.

"REKKA SHIEN!"

From, what seemed like, out of no where, light-orange flames burst forth, frying the large tiger, just as it was about to claw Kaho's back.

The animal fell to the ground, incinerated, blackened, smoking, and pretty much dead. Kaho stopped and turned to stare at the tiger's blackened body.

"Whoa..." she muttered. From the tiger's body, she dragged her gaze up to see Tasuki coming towards her. He looked a little angry, too.

'Oh, fuck.' she thought.

Tasuki skidded to a halt in front of her. He crouched slightly, resting his palms on his legs, his head hung down as he tried to catch his breath. As soon as he did, he clutched both her shoulders.

"What the hell d'ya think yer' doin'!" he shouted, "An' what's with the appearance? I almost couldn't recognize ya!"

Kaho remained silent. Chichiri's words were ringing in her head.

_Make your actions responsible, no da. Otherwise, there will be victims because of you..._

"Kaho! Answer me!" Tasuki repeated for the second time, but managed to snap her back to reality this time. "What d'ya think ya were doin'? If I didn't notice ya were gone and didn't come when I did, ya'd've been tiger food!"

Kaho shrugged his hands off her shoulders and turned her back to him.

"I don't need your help!" she shouted.

"Don't need my help? Ya were tryin' ta go ta Kutou on yer' own!" he replied, "Look at what happens when I ain't around!"

Kaho bit her lip.

"That's what I can't stand! I'll be fine on my own! I always have been!" she said, "So fuck off, and leave me alone!"

Tasuki's anger seemed to subside and was replaced with shock. Kaho looked sadly over her shoulder to see his head hung low, shadows covering his eyes. Turning her head back, Kaho began to take a step forward.

Suddenly, a hand was placed on her shoulder and spun her around. She found herself once again facing Tasuki, his hands once more grasping her shoulders. Looking in his eyes now, she could see the worry and desperation within them. Whatever words she was going to say to him, remained in her mouth.

"I can't leave ya alone..." he said and pulled her against him. He wrapped both his arms her to prevent her from escaping and buried his face in her hair. He took a breath of her sweet, clean smell and shifted so that his mouth was just over her right ear.

Kaho stood motionless. Her forearms lay across his chest and she could feel the strong muscles underneath his shirt. Kaho blushed at the close distance. Half of her wanted to push him away and just run, but the other half of her liked being held like this. She felt safe... She felt secure. She felt things she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Fer' the two months ya were gone, I missed ya so much, I thought I'd go mad." Tasuki whispered. His hot breath sent sparks racing down her spine. "An' when I got ta see ya in yer' world, ya were hurt. I felt helpless."

Kaho's eyes quivered. Tasuki's close, warm presence overwhelmed everything but the knowledge of him holding her and the gentle sound of his voice as he continued.

"When I came back here, an' didn't see ya, I panicked. My mood was even worse than before." he said, "That's when I realized how I felt about ya. I dunno what I'd do without ya."

Kaho pulled away, but remained in his arms, and looked up to his face.

"I have ta protect ya! I'll protect ya no matter what happens! So don't ya ever run away from me!" Tasuki said. His words were both gentle and tinged with desperation.

Kaho pressed herself against him and grasped the soft fabric of his over coat. She knew nothing but this moment.

Tasuki returned the embrace, gently pressing his mouth onto the top of her hair. It was silky and cool beneath his lips until their body heat met, their combined warmth coursing through him.

Kaho breathed within his embrace, committing every moment to memory.

'I want to be near you, Tasuki. I want to always feel safe in your arms. I bet you wouldn't think twice about risking your life for me...' she thought, 'But you've got so much to live for. You've got a wonderful family and bandits back on the mountain to take care of. I admit... I love you, and I can't keep putting you in danger.'

Kaho felt her knees begin to weaken. Feeling her begin to drop, Tasuki helped her to the ground and crouched in front of her.

"What's wrong, Kaho?" he asked, worry evident in his voice.

Kaho's face appeared distorted with pain and her hands were placed on her right leg.

"It's my leg... Something's... wrong with it." she said between grunts of pain.

"Lemme see what I can do." said Tasuki. He moved his hand to touch her leg, but when he did, she winced, and bit her lip to hold back a yelp.

"I can't move..." Kaho whispered, then looked up to him, "Tasuki, I need you... to do a little favor... for me."

"What is it?" he asked.

"There's a small bottle... that I put in Nuriko's saddlebags... with the horses back at Tamahome's house... It says "Advil" on it... and the pills in it will get rid of the pain."

Tasuki's eyebrows furrowed, showing he did not like the idea.

"I can't just leave ya here!" he argued, "What if somethin' else comes and tries ta eat ya?"

"Well you can't carry me either..." she said, "If worse comes to worse... I'll force myself to move... Please, Tasuki... I can't go anywhere... even if I wanted to."

Tasuki hesitated with his decision. If her carried her, he'd cause her a lot of pain. If he left her... she could defend herself a bit, but that would also cause her pain. Tasuki's face grew resolute, and he stood up. (It sound a lot better in my head than on paper)

"Okay, I'll go get it. I'll be back soon. Try not ta do anythin' ta aggravate the pain." he said and began to run off.

Once he had vanished, Kaho stood up. She sighed with determined resignation.

The sound of a horse-drawn cart crunching its way along guided her back through the trees to the road. She watched the cart of hay pass, then ran after it and jumped inside, unbeknownst to the driver. Studying the road for any signs of Tasuki, seeing none, Kaho made herself as comfortable as possible in the bouncing wagon.

'Sorry, Tasuki... This is for the best.' she thought.

The cart leisurely made its way out of the forest. High up in the fork in the tree, unseen by Kaho, Chichiri watched her departure. His masked face, as always, was a perfect study of pleasantness.

With Tasuki...

Insects celebrated the clear night sky with their unceasing song, the notes hanging upon the air within the peacefully sleeping village. The eternal lullaby continued unbroken until the night was pierced by a strangled curse.

"Shit!" Tasuki shouted, "There wasn't a bottle at all! She lied!"

Tamahome ran to the door.

"Tasuki, what's going on?" he demanded.

Tasuki looked away, his hurt, pained eyes narrowed.

"Nothin'..." he muttered, "I'm gonna go back ta my house."

With that, Tasuki mounted his horse and left for his house. Tamahome watched him leave, clearly confused at his friend's behavior.

Back with Nuriko...

Nuriko sat at the table, cradling his chin in his palms and elbows propped against the table. He wore a bored expression upon his face.

"When are they gonna be back?" he moaned.

As if to answer him, he heard the snorting of a horse outside and Tasuki walked in. The first thing Nuriko noticed, was that Kaho was not with him.

"Tasuki, where's Kaho?" Nuriko asked, turning his body to him.

"She's gone ta Kutou..." Tasuki muttered.

Nuriko slammed his palms down (LIGHTLY) and stood up.

"Alone? Didn't you stop her?" he exclaimed.

Tasuki walked past Nuriko and to the back door of the house, ignoring his question.

"I'll be out back if ya need me." Tasuki said and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Nuriko stared after him, disbelief upon his face.

"Oh, that fool of a son of mine."

Nuriko turned to see Tasuki's mother beside him. He sighed and sat back down.

"It's about that priestess a' yers' ain't it? Kaho?" Tasuki's mother asked, receiving a nod from Nuriko, "I'll 'ave a word with 'im."

Nuriko watched her leave the house and sighed.

Back with Tasuki...

He sat just outside the house, beside the door. His arms and legs were crossed and his back leaned against the wall. He stared at the ground, trying to burn holes in it with his eyes. Clearly, he was not in a happy mood.

"Tasuki, what in Suzaku's name are ya doin' out 'ere?"

Tasuki didn't need to look up to know it was his own mother.

"It's none a' yer business, ma." he said.

"None a' ma' business, eh? Ma' own son is sittin' out 'ere, cryin' like a baby, all 'cause 'is woman ran away." his mother exclaimed.

Tasuki lifted his head and glared at his mother.

"Shaddup! She ain't my woman! She don't even want me around! I'm tellin' ya, she hates me!" he shouted.

His mother sat down beside him and sighed.

"Tasuki, ya don't know the first thin' about women." she said, "Why do ya think I married yer' father?"

Tasuki thought for a moment, but could not think of any reasons. His father was a short, cowardly old man who didn't seem to have the slightest bit of attraction to him. (I meant like personality, talent, etc.). Seeing her son unable to answer, she sighed again.

"I married 'im 'cause he was an honest man. He had 'is moments too. It look 'im a lot a' courage ta ask me out, let alone marry me. I remember when I was about yer' age. I was bein' picked on by some a' the local boys. Yer' father stood up ta them an' protected me. Unfortunately, the next day, they came back an' beat yer' father up." she answered, smiling at the memory. She shook her head and snapped back to the present, "Tasuki, I know ya love that girl."

Tasuki blushed and looked away.

"An' I know she loves ya back." she continued. Tasuki stared at his mother like she was crazy. "I know, 'cause ya both 'ave that look in yer' eyes. Don't ya think she ran off 'cause she wanted to protect ya an' so that she don't endanger yer' family, not 'cause she hates ya?"

Tasuki's eyes widened. He mentally slapped himself for not realizing this before. He stood up and opened the door to the house.

"Thanks, ma." he said, then entered the house.

Nuriko had been helping Fei and Jie-ling with a couple of heavy lifting chores when he noticed Tasuki come back in. He watched him enter through the back, and exit through the front.

"What are you doing, now?" he asked, following Tasuki through the door.

Tasuki mounted his horse once more and faced Nuriko.

"I'm gonna go get Kaho. Nuriko, ya have ta get Tamahome an' go back ta the capital ta inform his majesty." he said.

Nuriko gazed up at Tasuki, hands clasped, and an admiring expression upon his face.

Tasuki stared blankly at Nuriko, perfectly perplexed at his expression.

"What the hell're ya doin', Nuriko?" he asked.

Nuriko put his hands behind him and grinned.

"Oh, nothing. Good luck, Tasuki." he said.

Tasuki nodded and rode off into the darkness.

Back with Kaho...

It was already the next day since Kaho had left Tasuki. The morning dawned clear and crisp.

She had fallen asleep in the cart the day before and when the driver had stopped in front of his house to unload the hay, he found her there. She had apologized and explained that she was the Priestess of Suzaku and that she needed a ride to Kutou for something. The driver and his wife had graciously welcomed her into their home for the night and even gave her food.

Kaho climbed up to sit alongside a new driver in a new wagon. Behind her stood her hosts. The husband spoke to her chauffer.

"Look after this girl." he said.

"Sure." the other man pleasantly agreed.

Happily holding her husband's arm, the young wife smiled up at Kaho.

"Isn't it great there's someone going straight to the border?" she asked happily.

"Yes." Kaho agreed and smiled at them. "Thank you so much for your hospitality."

Kaho looked away for a moment.

"I have just one more teensy favor to ask..." she said.

The husband placed his arm around his wife's shoulders. She tilted her head to Kaho.

"Go ahead." she said.

Unable to face their trusting smiles, Kaho kept her eyes askance.

"If a young man named Tasuki comes by, please tell him something..." she said.

Perched up in another tree, a short distance away, Chichiri continued his vigilance over the girl. As she spoke to the young couple, a frown creased his brow, and his fingers dug into the tree's bark.  
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Author notes: YAY! It's finally done! Anybody know if Miboshi can do necromancy? I don't remember if Advil really is a pain killer… but it was my friend's idea! Hope you guys liked it. ALSO! I will be alternating updating chapters between my two stories. So don't expect another chapter for this one for, well, a while. I apologize.


	15. Chapter 15

Author Notes: OmFg. It's about time I updated, eh? I know how long you guys have been waiting XD It's almost been two months... I've been dying to write this part of the story. There are two other parts I'm dying to write. Can't wait 'til I do. If anybody ever checks my profile at all, or at least lately, you will notice I have put up a **RANT BOX**. You can see about three already, more like two since the other's only two words... but still! If anybody would like to put a rant in my rant box, please feel free to email it to me or put it in their review. Tell me what you're rant is about (which could be about anything) and if you want your name, or username with your rant. And nobody's told me if Miboshi can do necromancy! XD I'm sorry Tomo... but... I guess you have to live a little longer... Like that's supposed to make him sad. Ah, yes. In my previous chapter, I had completely forgotten one thing about Kaho's new attire. I forgot to cover up the scar on her left hand. So I've got her wearing a long sleeved shirt now. Hope you like my chapter.  
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"What?" Hotohori shouted. His deep voice echoed through the palace of Konan. "Kaho went to Kutou by herself?"

Tamahome knelt before Hotohori on the red carpet of the throne room. His head was turned to Nuriko, who was also kneeling on the carpet. Disbelief was on his face upon hearing the news from Nuriko. He had only heard everything just now, since Nuriko had insisted that he come so he could explain everything to both him and Hotohori, when he had come by his home.

Nuriko's heart pounded with dread.

"Yes, your majesty. I sincerely apologize. Although we were with her..." he replied quickly, but trailed off.

The heavy weight of his imperial robes forgotten in his passion, Hotohori leaped to his feet at the unspoken words, eyes sparkling with anger.

"Prepare my horse!" he demanded loudly to one of his servants.

"Your majesty, do not be rash!" his head counselor admonished from behind. "What do you intend to do?"

"I'll return Kaho to Konan!" he snapped back as he strode away from his throne.

"You must not!" the advisor persisted, ignoring the Emperor's anger. "You would be putting your head in the lion's mouth!"

Hotohori whirled on one foot.

"But, if something happens to Kaho-" he argued.

"Your majesty, remember yourself!" his counselor cut him off, then leaned forward to emphasize the importance of his next sentence. "Do you wish to start a war?"

The emperor stared, his eyes wide at the reminder of his station. The tension left his form as he recollected himself, his mind shaken.

"I understand." he whispered and resumed his place upon the throne. "I was wrong."

The counselor raised his voice to address the room's guards.

"Dispatch the soldiers! We must return the Priestess of Suzaku!" he shouted. Footsteps pounded the floor in reply.

Hotohori wordlessly sat back in his chair, his eyes closed, brows creased, and watching nothing.

Still kneeling on the carpet below Hotohori's raised dais, Nuriko and Tamahome gazed up at their fellow warrior, just as silently.

With Tasuki...

Quietly astride his horse as they trotted down the road that meandered away from the forest, Tasuki studied the tips of his mount's ears with a scowl on his face as for the thousandth time, he pondered the possible reasons for Kaho's irrational departure. Not once, but twice she had slipped away without any explanation or escort. The absurdity of her actions had him so confused and frustrated that he paid no attention to his surroundings until a surprised female gasp jolted him aware.

"Hey, you!" she shouted, pointing a finger at his face.

Tasuki abruptly stopped his horse and slanted away from the woman with an expression that clearly read, "What the hell?"

A man came out of the house behind her. From him, she turned to the man.

"I found him! This guy's gotta be Tasuki! This time for sure!" she burst out.

"What, again?" the man said, exasperated, and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, sir. My wife's been at this for two days since a girl asked us to pass on a message. Now every young man has to be this Tasuki character."

Tasuki's eyes widened at the sound of his name and he gasped.

""A girl"?" he repeated, "Ya mean, Kaho?"

The woman smiled, very pleased that she could deliver her message and serve the Priestess of Suzaku in her own small way. Her husband, on the other hand, was just shocked.

"You're kidding! You're him?" he said.

"What was the message?" Tasuki asked quickly.

The woman raised one hand and quoted Kaho's exact words.

"Don't come after me. I'm fine on my own. I always have been." she said.

Tasuki's anger collapsed in upon itself to form a tight sphere of fury inside his heart.

"Thanks." he said, then dug his heels into his mount and leaned low over its neck as the horse exploded forward. The couple and their small house vanished behind him in a flurry of loose gravel and dust.

'Why, Kaho?' he thought, 'Why do ya keep runnin' from me?'

With Kaho...

"This is the border."

The cart driver's words awoke Kaho from her traveler's hypnosis.

"Hmm?" she said.

The cart had ground to a halt in front of a massive brick gate. The immense structure was topped with a graceful wooden house very much like the royal architecture of Konan, only its roof tiles were a sharp blue.

"Once you pass the checkpoint, you'll be in Kutou." her chauffeur explained.

"Really? Thank you so much." Kaho said and smiled, "I'm finally here."

Kaho climbed down from her perch next to the wagon's driver, dusted off her clothes, stretched stiff limbs, and adjusted her backpack once more over her shoulder.

'I haven't got a clue whether Misora is in this country or not. But since I'm here, I'll give it my best shot.' she thought.

From a small distance away, she eyed the gate's gargantuan archway and the two sentry guards who stood against the left wall. Their faces were a study of stern boredom, but Kaho's gaze lingered instead upon their armor and weaponry. The style was reminiscent of that of the Konan soldiers', but the blue, green, and silver shades seemed jarringly out of place.

Kaho took a deep breath, then closed her eyes and walked into the gate, trying her best to look like she had no idea where she was.

The first soldier leaned forward, his voice sharp after the walking girl.

"Hey! Where're your transport papers?" he said.

Kaho turned towards the direction of where she thought she heard the voice.

"Transport papers?" she repeated and took a few steps towards the guards.

"You need them to pass through here." the other said in an obvious tone.

The first soldier's face twitched, and he leaned close to his companion.

"Hey, look at her clothes." he whispered.

The two men's gazes began at Kaho's shoes, and traveled up to her blue jeans, belt, and white long-sleeved shirt. Kaho began to wonder why they had suddenly stopped talking and began to become nervous.

"Didn't the brass say something about a girl from another world?" the other noted.

"This couldn't be the... Priestess of Seiryu?" the first guard trailed off in disbelief.

Kaho remained silent, listening to the guards' rambles.

'I see... Misora hasn't been found yet.' she thought and relaxed.

"Guess they went away." Kaho said aloud, pretending she had not heard a thing they said. Turning away from them, she began to walk out of the gate.

The second guard cut off her path, reaching out with one hand.

"You aren't going anywhere without those papers-" he said, but found himself unable to finish his sentence for some reason.

Stealthily peeking around the Konan edge of the gate's tunnel, Chichiri raised two fingers in a soundless spell. The two soldiers suddenly jerked upright back into the proper sentry position. Their entire bodies were clenched as tightly as their astonished faces. They tried to move, but found themselves forcefully frozen.

"C-can't move..." the first guard managed to gasp before even speech was taken from him.

Kaho raised her eyebrows in an all unknowing way.

"Guess they went away." she said innocently, then shrugged, and began to walk away.

Kaho stopped when she heard the sound of horse hooves stop in front of her.

The guards recognized the man in the lead at once. He sat tall astride his horse, exuding strength and intimidation that no one could ignore. They took in his richly decorated horse and his own same disturbingly blue armor. His reignment covered almost every inch of him, leaving only the top of his face and a few strands of pale hair free of the piercingly blue helmet which was topped with a sinuous Asian dragon of blue steel.

"General!" the first guard gasped out.

Kaho, with her eyes still closed, looked up at the figure in front of her.

'General?' she thought and gulped.

"What is the problem?" the general demanded sternly, "Report!"

"W-we can't seem to move!" the second guard squeezed out.

The general understood their predicament in half a heartbeat.

"A spell? How trivial." he said, his voice deep, smooth, and completely dismissing. With a twitch of one blue eye, Chichiri's spell snapped out of existence. The two guards stumbled forward, quickly trying to regain their balance.

Still peaking down the tunnel, Chichiri made a quiet sound of admiration at the ease with which his magic had been broken.

'Not bad, no da.' he thought.

The general locked his cold eyes on Kaho, who had no idea what was going on, considering her eyes were closed.

"And... who is this girl?" he asked, taking notice of her closed eyes.

One of the sentries stepped forward.

"I am not positive, sir, but she may be the Priestess of Seiryu." he answered.

The general slowly turned his head to fully face Kaho.

"Seiryu's-" he repeated with soft surprise as he carefully studied the girl.

Kaho remained silent, fidgeting at the momentary silence. A moment passed, then two, before the faintest hint of a smile touched what could be seen of his face.

"I could not have asked for better timing than this. I've been searching for you." he said, then looked at her still closed eyes. "Your eminence, will you not open your eyes to gaze upon the beautiful capital of Kutou?"

Kaho hung her head down, acting as sad as possibly believable.

"I'd love to see this... city of yours. I wish I could, but I can't... I'm blind." she said sadly.

The general narrowed his eyes at her. (Not an error. He narrowed his eyes.)

"My apologies, I did not mean offense." he said, "Your eminence, I would like you to come with me, if you please. I would like you to meet someone."

He lifted his gaze from her to look back at his subordinate behind him.

"Inform his majesty that I'll accompany the Priestess of Seiryu when we see him." he commanded sharply.

"But, I'm not-" Kaho protested.

"Nonsense. You arrived just in time." the general interrupted, then narrowed his eyes once again at the girl and his voice had the slightest bit of suspicion. "Who else could you be?"

Suddenly, Kaho heard the sound of raised voices behind her.

"Show us your transport papers!"

"Yer' kiddin' me! Lemme through!"

Kaho's face flinched at that voice.

'Tasuki.' she acknowledged in her mind.

Tasuki had been stopped at the gate's entrance by two Kutou sentries. The two sentries had crossed their spears, preventing him from advancing any further.

"I'm lookin' fer' someone! Lemme go, ya jerks!" he shouted and gripped one of the spears in his hand.

Kaho continued to listen to the rising argument behind her.

'Tasuki... Why did you come this far to find me?' she thought gravely.

Kaho jerked her attention back to the general.

"I-I guess I'll go." she said, forcing an innocent smile onto her lips, "I mean, I don't know anyone or anywhere... and I don't want to get lost..."

"Good, then." the general said, then helped Kaho onto his mount. Kaho sat in front of the general on the horse and forced herself to face forward.

'Tasuki... All I'd have to do is call out, let you know I'm here, and you'd come for me.' she thought, knitting her brows together, 'But then, I'd be causing you nothing but trouble again...'

At the other end of the tunnel, Tasuki watched the soldiers on the other side ride away on their horses. He caught a quick glance of other worldly clothes. His eyes widened. He grasped both the spears and leaned forward.

"Kaho!" he muttered, then raised his voice even more. "Ka-"

His cry was cut off when Chichiri clamped a strong arm around his neck and pulled him backwards, away from the guards.

"Sorry about my friend, no da!" Chichiri said. He apologetically laughed as he swiftly dragged a frustrated and astonished Tasuki back. "He's rude when he's plastered! Goodbye, no da!"

Still brightly laughing, Chichiri spirited them both away from the crowd that had been gathering to witness the confrontation.

Kaho allowed herself to relax a bit when she realized something had defused the rising conflict. With the general's secure arms on either side of her, Kaho had no question that she was stuck in her current predicament.

With Tasuki and Chichiri...

Back in Konan, Tasuki loomed over the other warrior, who had finally released him upon reaching the tree where he had tethered his mount.

"Chichiri, what the-" Tasuki shouted.

"Shhh, no da!" Chichiri hushed him, "It looks like Kaho's behind led straight to the Kutou emperor, no da."

Tasuki grew still.

"What?" he shouted.

Chichiri hushed him again, looking as if he was seething.

"The front gate is outta the question, no da." he said, "So just let me take care of it, no da."

With Kaho...

Within the starkly blue and green Kutou palace, Kaho followed the general, her hand on his shoulder. The fear of being discovered clutched at her heart.

The general stopped in a large room, most commonly known as the throne room. Tones of blue were everywhere. A sinuous silver Asian dragon graced the immense seal between the twin staircases that lead up to the emperor's raised dais.

Kaho felt the general's motion stop and lifted her head to where she thought someone, most likely the emperor, was.

The emperor slowly lowered his blue and white scroll to examine Kaho, with an amused smile upon his lips.

"Ah... So this is the Priestess of Seiryu of the Universe of the Four Gods." he said.

Kaho swallowed the saliva in her mouth and tried to keep a puzzled face.

The emperor's small, piggy eyes were decidedly calculating as they scanned over Kaho. He was a certified old man well over forty. His deeply lined face bristled with bushy eyebrows, an overgrown goatee, and scraggly moustache.

He shifted his gaze to the general, who was standing beside the girl, a full head and shoulder taller than she was.

"Is she really the Priestess of Seiryu, Nakago?" he asked, doubt in his voice.

"That seems to be the case." the general replied. He reached up with both hands to lift his helmet from his head. Freed from its constraints, the man's long hair flowed down to settle around his face and shoulders in shimmering waves.

"We found her at the border checkpoint." Nakago spoke again. His rich, deep voice resonated through Kaho, even as he spoke of her to the emperor.

"Well done! Well done! Now we have nothing to fear! Not even the Priestess of Suzaku! I'll have that child Hotohori whimpering and groveling at my feet!" the emperor said happily, his face twisting with glee at the very idea.

Kaho scowled at the unpleasant words about her friend and warrior. But she restrained herself from voicing her thoughts and revealing her identity.

"Your majesty, actually there is one other I wished you to see." Nakago said. He looked over and raised one hand in a silent command to a soldier standing against the wall. The man bowed and moved out of sight behind a purple curtain.

Nakago placed a hand on Kaho's shoulder, motioning her to turn.

Kaho jumped at the sudden touch, thinking for an instant she was discovered.

"Sorry." she muttered and turned.

Hesitantly stepping forward from between two soldiers, a girl entered the room.

Kaho walked towards her, and she did the same. They stopped when they were both in front of each other.

"H-hello. My name's Misora. Yours?" she said.

Kaho's widened (but still closed) and she took in a silent breath.

'Crap! So they did find her!' she thought grimly, then quickly realized she had forgotten to create a false name for herself. Thinking quickly, she decided on a name.

"M-my name's Kohana." she answered.

"Is it tough being blind?" Misora asked quietly.

Kaho breathed a quiet, unnoticeable sigh of relief when she realized Misora did not recognize her. But right now, she had to put on her act.

"Well... sorta. I have to make sure I don't run into anything all the time." she said sarcastically and smiled.

Misora studied the other girl's face, then raised an eyebrow.

"I think I've seen you before..." she said in a suspecting tone.

Kaho tensed and stood frozen on spot. Invisible sweat drops ran down her face.

"I don't believe we have." she answered, barely keeping her cool.

Misora studied her with even more intensity. Kaho could feel Misora's eyes burning holes into her skin. Her sweat drops ran down her face in twice their original speed.

From where he was watching the girls converse, Nakago turned his attention to where "Kohana" had dropped her bag. When she had dropped it, it was already partially open, and something had fallen out: a red scroll. At the sight of the scroll, he gave a small, unnoticed start of recognition.

"So which one is the Priestess of Seiryu?" the emperor asked his general.

Nakago straightened, Kohana's red scroll in his grasp. He loosened the string that bound it and pulled open the scroll. He scanned only two lines before he spoke, his voice soft and devoid of emotion.

"This is... The Konan version of the Universe of the Four Gods." he said.

The emperor jolted in his throne.

"What?" he shouted.

At the sudden shout, fear speared through Kaho. She whirled around to face with trepidation at the Emperor of Kutou and the general standing beside him.

"So then you must be the Priestess of Suzaku." Nakago concluded, "I suspected as much when we first met."

Misora smirked, then backed up a few steps.

"Kaho." she acknowledged.

It was Kaho's turn to smirk. She opened her eyes and undid her hair. It was nice to have her hair up once every now and then, but she felt most comfortable with it down.

Gasps came from all around the room as everyone looked upon her eyes.

"Demon!"

"Devil!"

"Monster!"

Kaho's brows furrowed in anger and she clenched a fist.

"Oh, PISS off!" she shouted, raising a fist. As she lowered her fist, she took notice of the general's hair and eye color and raised an eyebrow. She looked from the assumed general, then to Misora, and back to the general.

'Siblings?' she thought jokingly, 'Blond hair, cold blue eyes, and he's probably a pain in the ass too.'

Misora crossed her arms.

"You won't be able to escape from here, especially now that everyone knows who you are." she said smugly.

Kaho turned and faced Misora.

"Just watch me." Kaho replied.

"Guards! Seize that imposter!" the emperor commanded.

Immediately, the guards that lined the throne room's walls came forward, pointing their spears at Kaho.

Kaho looked from side to side with her eyes, thinking of a way to get out.

Suddenly, a soldier came running through the doors. His uniform was slightly tattered and he himself looked a bit beaten up. He knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

"Forgive my intrusion, sire! An intruder has broken through the gate!" he said, "Several soldiers are trying to contain him, but we can't hold him back!"

Kaho noticed that everyone's attention was drawn to the kneeling soldier on the carpet. Taking advantage of the situation, she pushed over two of the guards, and jumped over them. She quickly snatched her backpack from the ground and ran towards the hall near the emperor. Thankfully, there were no guards guarding the entrance.

"Hey!" the guards shouted.

Kaho raised a hand in the air, waving goodbye.

"See you guys some other time!" she shouted back.

Nakago watched her leave, his cold expression not changed in the slightest. He placed the red scroll inside a pouch within his cloak.

"After her. Do not let her escape. Once she is captured, put her in a cell in the dungeon." he ordered the guards.

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers said in unison, then ran after Kaho.

Nakago walked over to Misora, who had been glaring in the direction Kaho had left.

"Lady Misora." he said.

Misora snapped out of her trance and looked up at Nakago.

"What is it?" she asked.

"If you would, Lady Misora, I have a plan." he answered.

"A plan?" she repeated.

A small sly smile appeared on his face as well as an evil gleam in his eyes. He nodded.

With Kaho...

Kaho peeked out from behind a large blue pillar. She had run down the hall and had come across this connected room. Only one third of the room was lit and that part was connected to the hall. The other two thirds of the room was nothing but pillars, curtains, shadows, and a hidden hall at the end. The part of the room that was lit barely illuminated any other part.

'Palaces have too much space.' she groaned inwardly.

"You, check over there." one of the soldiers commanded, pointing into the darkened area.

The addressed soldier complied and slowly walked into the dark abyss, weapon ready in his hands.

Kaho watched as the soldier came closer and closer to her spot. But she did not move at all, lest she was discovered again.

Just as the soldier walked in front of Kaho, he stopped, turned to his left and inspected the area there.

Kaho stood silent, not even breathing.

The soldier turned again, this time facing Kaho. As he checked the area out, he saw two red dots. He leaned closer to inspect them.

An idea suddenly came to Kaho, and she smiled at it.

"Boo." she said in almost a whisper.

The soldier jerked back, screamed, then fainted.

Kaho smirked.

"What was that?"

"Come on! It's the Priestess of Suzaku! She must have done something to him!"

Kaho quickly found her way into the hidden hall and followed it, not having the slightest clue where she was going.

Since the soldiers had not been accustomed to the darkness yet, they could not see where they were going. Many ended up running into the pillars and knocking themselves out, while the others tripped over those who fell, then also knocked their heads on the pillars, and fainted.

With Tasuki...

He stood in fighting position in front of the palace's gate. Drops of rain fell heavily onto the ground, soaking everyone and everything. Unconscious guards and broken weapons littered the ground.

The last three soldiers had surrounded Tasuki. Their weapons were snapped in two, leaving only their fists and feet to fight with.

Tasuki, too, had only his fists and feet to fight with. The rain had soaked him to the bone and his tessen was in the same boat. It was far too wet to be spewing out fires of any sort.

The guard in front of him made the first move. He lunged at Tasuki, attempting a forward punch. Tasuki stepped slightly to the side. He caught the soldier by the wrist and pulled him towards him, then kneed him in the stomach. Being the oh-so-kind gentleman he was, Tasuki helped the soldier get to the ground faster by elbowing him on the head.

The two soldiers beside him came next. The first soldier knelt down and swung his leg at Tasuki's legs. Tasuki dodged it by jumping over it. While he was in the air, the other soldier swung his leg at him to try to knock him down. But Tasuki had caught his leg and landed on the ground, unharmed. He tightened his grip on the soldier's leg, then swung the soldier towards the other, letting go, causing the two to fall.

The two soldiers got up again. The first soldier ran at him but stopped when he saw the strange position Tasuki was in. Tasuki was standing on one leg with the other bent inwards. His hands were in front of his face, one atop the other, fingers together, pointing downwards. The soldier raised an eyebrow. Tasuki began to move his hands up and down slowly. The soldier watched intently, wondering what crazy antics he would come up with next. He found out pretty soon too, when a fist connected with his face. The soldier fell to the ground, his nose bleeding heavily.

"I've got you now!"

Tasuki turned to see the other soldier. In his hand held up in the air, was a broken off part of a spear, the spear head still in tact. Quickly, Tasuki raised his arm and pointed his index finger to behind the soldier.

"Look! There I am!" he shouted, shocked expression and all.

The soldier turned his head to look behind him. Quickly realizing he was fooled, he turned his head back.

"Hey! You-" he shouted, but was quickly knocked out by a swift punch to the face from Tasuki.

"So you're a warrior of Suzaku?"

Tasuki turned to see a blond haired, blue eyed man, just about as soaked as he was. He then looked at the man's armor. He recognized it right away as the same man at the border's gates.

"Kaho, where is she?" Tasuki demanded.

"I'd guess you're... Tasuki." the blond haired man said, ignoring Tasuki's question, "You entered enemy territory alone to save your priestess. A noble act. Or should I say a stupid one?"

Tasuki glared at the blond haired man, anger flickering in his eyes.

"I asked ya where Kaho is!" he shouted.

"Does it matter? I'd never hand her over to you." the blond haired man said coolly.

"Well then..." Tasuki said, then began to run at the blond haired man, "I'll have ta fight ta get 'er back!"

He leaped into the air and took position for a kick. One leg stretched out while the other bent in and his arms were over his head. The back of his overcoat flew back as he was coming into contact.

The blond haired man raised an arm and pushed Tasuki's attack away from him, as if swatting a fly.

As Tasuki landed on the ground behind the man, a spasm of pain shot through his leg. He winced and grasped his leg.

'He barely even touched me! 'The hell's with this guy?' he thought. He looked back over his shoulder to see the blond haired man walking towards him, a smug smile on his lips.

Kneeling upon the gate's blue rooftop, Chichiri analyzed the situation. His brows were creased with worry.

"This isn't good!" he muttered. Raising his hand just above his forward, he held up two fingers and a thumb. With a quiet "hmph!" he made a fast downward motion with his hand until the heel of his palm reached his chin, casting a spell.

As he was a few steps away from Tasuki, the blond haired man suddenly could not move. A small, surprised expression appeared on his face.

Tasuki looked up at him, confused at why he stopped. He suddenly heard a very familiar voice in his head.

"Tasuki, go on ahead!"

He recognized the voice.

"Chichiri? Thanks!" Tasuki shouted. He then stood and ran into the palace.

The blond haired man watched as Tasuki entered the palace. The man smiled again, his confidence just as high as before.

"You brought a friend with you, eh?" he muttered. Closing his eyes, he searched for the other Suzaku warrior's energy. Once he found it, he made a "hmph!" sound and snapped his eyes open, canceling the spell and using some of his own energy to blow the warrior away.

Chichiri quickly teleported himself away.

Nakago looked back at the gate's roof, where his spell-performing enemy had been. The smile on his face had never left.

"These warriors of Suzaku are... cute." he said.

Back with Kaho...

Kaho ran down the halls of the palace, searching every room for the family heirloom that was taken from her. She ran down another hall, searched the rooms there, but came out with nothing. She began to run back down the halls. As she rounded the corner she quickly pulled herself back when she spotted some soldiers. It appeared as though the leader was in the middle and the lackeys were around him. She peeked out form the corner and listened to the soldiers.

"Alright! You four go down that hall!" the leader instructed the soldiers in front of him and pointed straight ahead. He then looked at the three soldiers behind him and pointed to the hall that Kaho was currently in. "You three, down that hall!" Then he looked at the three soldiers beside him. "The rest of you will come with me. We will re-search the halls. All right! You all know what to do. If you find the wench, throw her in the dungeon. If not, continue searching through the halls!"

"Yes, sir!" they all shouted in unison and saluted. The soldiers began going to their assigned halls.

Kaho retreated back from the corner and looked frantically from side to side, having trouble deciding which room to hide in. She ran into the closest one and silently closed the door, then quickly hid behind a tall stack of boxes on the right side of the room. Soon after, the door opened. She knew it was the soldier, but he didn't go inside. He just did a general look around, then closed the door.

Kaho popped her head up and looked around at her surroundings. It was very dark; things were barely made out by the light from the hall that shone through the translucent doors. She recognized the room as the storage room she had searched earlier.

Kaho sat down and sighed.

'Where could the necklace be?' she thought and groaned inwardly, 'Plus I forgot the Universe of the Four Gods scroll... How could I forget that?'

Finished with her rest, Kaho stood up and walked over to the door. She opened it a bit to look side to side with her eye, then more so that she could fit her head through. She looked left and right, but saw no one. Thinking the coast was clear, she walked out of the room and up the hall. Unfortunately for her, the coast was not clear. The soldier that was assigned to the hall came out of a room and saw her.

"Hey! It's the impos-" he shouted, but was cut short when he felt a sharp pain on his neck and he fell in the black state of unconsciousness.

Kaho whirled around at the mid-shout. She looked at the unconscious soldier on the ground. Her face was an expression of shock and fear. She noticed that somebody was standing beside the soldier's body. She looked form the soldier's body, to the person's feet, to the legs, to their torso, their shoulders, and finally, their face. The clothes as well as the hair were both dripping with water.

Kaho took a step back, then turned and began to run. But before she could go anywhere, she felt a hand around her wrist, pulling her to a stop. Kaho turned her head to look back.

"Tasuki, let go of me!" she said, trying to pull her arm free.

Tasuki looked her straight in the eye. She could see the angered look in his eyes, as well as pain and worry.

"Uh-uh. Not this time. Ya got some explainin' ta do." he said. Suddenly, voices from the hall ahead of them were heard. Kaho and Tasuki stopped for a moment to listen.

"Hey! Over here! I think I heard something!"

Tasuki quickly pulled Kaho into the room she had just come out of. Kaho and Tasuki listened as the soldiers ran over.

"One of our men is down!"

"What happened?"

"You! Go report to the general!"

As soon as the pounding of the soldiers' running feet was gone, Tasuki took his attention back to Kaho.

"Why did ya go ta Kutou on yer' own? Why didn't ya lemme go with ya ta protect ya at least?" he asked, his voice rising.

Kaho diverted her gaze, then turned away from him.

"Forget it..." she muttered.

Tasuki grabbed her right shoulder and forced her to look at him.

"Tell me!" he said, slight desperation in his voice.

Kaho slapped his hand off her shoulder.

"I said forget it!" she answered angrily. She stretched out her hand and swung it back. "Forget about protecting me! Forget about worrying over me! Just forget me!"

In an instant, Tasuki grabbed her shoulders and his eyes closed, then their lips met in a bruising kiss.

Kaho's eyes widened. Her body froze out of pure shock. All she could do, was wonder why he was kissing her of all people.

Finally their lips broke apart. Instinctively, Kaho reached a hand up to touch her lips.

"I won't stop protectin' ya. I can't stop worryin' over ya. An' I'll never forget about ya, not ever." Tasuki said determinedly.

Kaho lowered her hand and balled her hands into shaking fists. She lowered her head, the shadows covering her eyes.

"Why?" she whispered.

"Because... Because I love ya." he answered, whispering the last part.

Kaho's head jerked up and looked at him. her eyes were wide with shock at the unexpected answer.

"You... love me?" she repeated quietly. But soon, she narrowed her eyes and turned her head away to avert her gaze, her eyes full of doubt. "No... It's not me you love. It's the idealness of the Priestess of Suzaku."

Kaho felt his hand on her waist, bringing her body closer to his. He then placed his forefinger under her chin and turned her head to make sure she was looking at him. Sure enough, she was.

Kaho looked up into his eyes, while he into hers. Least to say, he continued to surprise her. His eyes were filled with passion and yearning. She knew her own eyes only held doubt and skepticism. She felt shameful and tried to turn her head away again, but Tasuki kept his firm, but gentle grip on her chin.

"Stupid..." he whispered, then closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. He smiled and moved his hand from her chin to the back of her head. "I said I loved ya, not the Priestess of Suzaku. Get yer' hearin' right."

Kaho stood frozen and speechless. She felt the defenses of her heart that she had built up over the years crumble and fall, all because of one person. A bandit leader; a celestial warrior of Suzaku; a man. Kaho closed her eyes to try to stop the tears from forming.

Tasuki lifted his forehead from hers and pulled his hand back a bit so that he was cupping her cheek. He leaned down to capture her lips in yet another kiss.

Kaho welcomed his kiss. It was not like the kiss before. This kiss was more gentle, passionate, and deeper. She finally let the tears she held in roll down her cheeks. She returned the kiss with the same affection and more.

Their lips parted once again. Tasuki pulled her against him, their combined body heat coursed through him. He wrapped his arms around her, as hers around him. Kaho buried her face into his chest, relishing this moment for as long as she could. Tasuki rested his head on top of hers. He breathed in her scent before speaking.

"If that's what ya wanna believe... If I just cause trouble for ya..." he whispered, "Then so be it. I love ya."

Kaho turned her head so her cheek lay on his chest.

"That's not it..." she answered, "I came to Kutou to try to be useful to you guys. When my mom and dad died, I did nothing to try to stop it from happening. I don't think I realized how much I loved them 'til they were gone."

Kaho tightened her grip on his clothes and continued.

"You guys are like my family now. You protect and take care of me. I haven't really done much in return, and when I thought about it, I guess I felt... useless." she said. She pulled away from Tasuki, and looked up at him. "I couldn't bring you along... I just couldn't handle seeing you risking your life to protect mine. I couldn't keep putting you in danger. I lo-"

Suddenly, the doors swung open and a voice was heard.

"So this is where you've been hiding, is it?"  
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Author Notes: Yay! I'm done! I think this is my first attempt at a cliffie. But it's not much of one. You all probably know who it is in the end XP. Truth be told, the position I had Tasuki and Kaho in where he was like, holding her waist... was an idea from Kaikan Phrase. I liked the anime a whole lot. I thought about getting the manga... but then I saw the rating and decided against it. Well, I think that's all I have to say... Hope you all liked this chapter. Now review. Do it... DO IT!


	16. Chapter 16

Author notes: You guys out there better be damn well happy XD I'm updating again! I planned on making this chapter longer, but then it would take too long to type it up. And if I cut it off too far, the next chapter would be bad... so, yeah. Ah yes, I had to change a bit of stuff in chapter two, but no much. Hope you like this chapter.  
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Kaho and Tasuki quickly pulled away from each other and turned to see who it was that spoke.

"Misora." Kaho acknowledged.

Misora stood in the doors, her arms crossed over her chest and something red in her left hand.

Tasuki looked from the blond girl, to Kaho, and back again, remembering where he had heard the name. He also acknowledged the uncanny resemblance with the blond hair and blue eyes, as the guy he had tried to fight at the palace gates.

Misora glanced over at Tasuki, and a small smile appeared on her face.

"So you must be Tasuki. Nakago told me about you. I'm surprised he let you go." she said, then looked back at Kaho. "Come with me, Kaho."

Kaho raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why would I do that?" she questioned.

Misora uncrossed her arms and held out the object in her hand, more specifically, a scroll, Konan's Universe of the Four Gods scroll.

Kaho's eyes widened.

"Oh, and I almost forgot." Misora said. Around her neck and tucked within her shirt, she pulled out Kaho's necklace. She took it off her neck and put it in her other hand with the scroll, letting it dangle. "One of the spies brought it back one day."

Kaho narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms angrily.

"Fine..." she said, knowing all too well she was walking into a trap.

Misora lowered her arm and smiled.

"Good!" she said gleefully, "Tasuki, you have to wait here."

Tasuki stomped forward and was about to grab Misora by the collar of her shirt, when he suddenly found himself staring at four spears. He backed off immediately.

"Good. So we have an understanding." Misora said and turned to face the door, "Come on, Kaho. We don't have all day!"

Kaho stepped forward and began to follow Misora. She stopped a moment to look back at Tasuki. Tasuki stared back at her, his mouth closed and eyes full of worry.

'Be careful...' he thought.

Although he did not say anything, Kaho knew what he wanted to say by looking at his eyes. She turned back and walked out of the room with Misora. Two guards followed afterwards, and the other two stayed in the room, keeping an eye on Tasuki.

Tasuki raised an eyebrow, skeptical of the prison that was to hold him and the usual lousy soldiers to guard him. He was now dry, and that meant he was able to use his fire again.

Tasuki reached back to grab the tessen, but quickly found himself staring at a couple of spears. He put his hand down and the soldiers retracted their spears and returned to their positions in front of the door.

'This'll be harder than I thought.' he thought.

With Kaho...

Kaho followed Misora as they walked down another hall, going who knows where.

Misora had placed the necklace back on her neck and held the scroll in her left hand.

As they walked, Kaho stared at the scroll. She suddenly noticed a thick line on Misora's wrist on the hand used to carry the scroll. It was darker than the rest of her skin .Kaho recognized it as a scar.

Suddenly feeling like she was being watched over by an eagle, Misora turned her head to look back at Kaho. She found Kaho's gaze upon her left hand. Instinctively, she thought she was planning a way to get the scroll, but remembered the scar on her wrist and realized that was what she was looking at. She turned her head back to the front.

"Curious about this scar, are you?" she said, startling Kaho, "Well, mind your own business, freak."

Kaho glared at Misora, but kept her mouth shut and continued walking.

Eventually, Misora led Kaho to one of the outstretched walkways outside. The walkway led to a very large building. Kaho and Misora stopped at the building's two metal doors. They were very large and appeared to be thick. Rows of three bolts were evenly screwed apart across the two doors.

Misora pushed the doors open, then glared back at Kaho, signaling her to follow her inside.

Upon doing so, the doors quickly slammed shut. Kaho turned her head from the doors back to the front of her. It was a dimly lit room but she could make out some of the things. There were mini waterfalls all over the place; tiny cascades that chuckled soothingly into their pools.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning appeared through the window to her left. Kaho whirled at the light and saw a sinister figure, shadowed by the lightning.

Back with Tasuki...

Tasuki sat on the floor of the storage room, arms and legs crossed. He stared at the guards with an impatient look on his face.

"Hey, who're- Ugh!"

"Intruder! In-!"

Tasuki raised an eyebrow at the commotion outside.

The two guards looked at each other, then nodded. One of the guards peeked out of the room to check out what was going on. He found the other two guards on the ground, unconscious. He knelt beside one of them and placed a hand on the body. He began to shake him to try to wake him up.

"Hey, wake up! What happened?" he asked. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain strike his head, and he collapsed.

Hearing his comrade's body fall with a thud, the guard with Tasuki turned to see what was going on, a big mistake.

Seeing his opportunity, Tasuki quickly took out his tessen and waved it at the guard.

"Rekka Shien!" he shouted. The guard screamed in pain and collapsed onto the ground. The back of his armor had been melted and his flesh was burned.

Tasuki stepped over the soldier and out of the room.

"Over here, no da."

Tasuki looked to his right to find Chichiri. He walked over to Chichiri, making sure to step on the soldier's body.

"Thanks Chichiri. I owe ya." he said, and placed the tessen on his back.

Chichiri nodded.

"Save the thanks for later. Kaho's in trouble, no da." he informed him.

"Well, where is she?" Tasuki asked, growing more impatient by the second.

"She's in the shrine of Seiryu, no da." Chichiri answered, then unhooked his cape from his shoulders and placed it flat on the ground. "Hop on, no da. I'll teleport us there."

Tasuki raised an eyebrow, but didn't question the monk. If this would get him to Kaho faster, he'd do it. He stepped onto the cape, waiting for something to happen next.

Chichiri raised his staff and gave one hard tap on his cape, sending the rings on his staff jingling. The cape began to glow Chichiri and Tasuki began to sink into it.

Tasuki screamed. So much for the heroic Tasuki.

"I'm sinkin' inta' the ground! Gemme out! Gemme out!" he shouted, and tried to pull his legs free, but to no avail.

"Stop that, no da!" Chichiri shouted, "You're gonna mess up my spell, no da!"

But Tasuki didn't seem to be listening. He continued trying to pull out, even when his head had sunken into the ground. As soon as they were completely gone, the cape's wormhole began to shrink until it was no more.

The two materialized in mid-air and fell to the ground, landing on their butts.

Chichiri had his cape back around his shoulders. He winced and rubbed his sore bottom.

"I told you to stop that, no da! If you had, we wouldn't have landed like we had, no da!" he scolded Tasuki and reached over with his staff to whack him on the head.

"Ow! I'm sorry, Chichiri! It was just really freaky!" Tasuki argued, then stood up. He dusted himself off and looked at the building in front of him. "That's the shrine of Seiryu?"

"Yes, no da. Kaho's in there, I can sense her, no da." Chichiri replied.

Tasuki began running at the doors .When he got near the doors, a strange force began to repel him. Tasuki was no match for it and was send back, landing on the ground with a thud.

"What the?" he said.

Chichiri walked up to the shrine and inspected it. His brows furrowed in worry and he balled his hand into a fist.

"This is bad!" he said, "They've put up wards so none of Suzaku's chosen can get in, no da!"

Tasuki's eyes widened.

"What?" he shouted.

Back with Kaho...

Kaho's eyes twitched. As soon as the lightning had died, she found out it was just a statue of Seiryu. Like the Suzaku statue back in Konan, it was made of gold. It stood perched on the surface of clouds. Its sharp claws and teeth, fearsome emerald eyes, and long horns made the statue all the more sinister.

'Damn, freaky, son-of-a-bitch statue.' she thought. Suddenly, her body began to go numb. Kaho fell to her knees and clutched her body tightly as it began to shake violently. Spasms of pain began to course through her body.

"'The hell is th-th-this?" she stuttered. She clenched her eyes shut and grit her teeth.

Misora casually walked over to Kaho.

"Does it hurt? It would, wouldn't it?" she said coolly, and stopped in front of Kaho. "This is the shrine of Seiryu. Suzaku's creatures aren't allowed in."

"Wh-wh-why did you bring me h-h-here?" T-to make me s-s-swear allegiance to S-S-Seiryu?" Kaho asked, opening an eye to glare at Misora.

Misora ignored her question.

"If I had entered the book before you, maybe I'd be the heroine of the story... the Priestess of Suzaku. Then the one Tasuki would have fallen in love with would have been me." she said, "You don't deserve to be the Priestess of Suzaku. Why couldn't I have been the Priestess of Suzaku? Why?"

Kaho smirked.

"It's called k-karma." she replied, "Ever h-heard of it?"

Misora glared angrily at Kaho. She winded her leg and kicked Kaho in the face. Kaho fell back, blood in the corner of her mouth.

Kaho's body was still shaking, and that kick only added to the pain. From where she lay on the ground, she glared up angrily with one eye.

Misora walked over to Kaho's side and kneeled down on one knee. She reached over and grabbed a lock of Kaho's hair and pulled her head towards her so that they were face to face.

"Your Tasuki won't be coming. You will die here in this shrine and be a sacrifice to Seiryu. I like Tasuki, so I'll take him from you." she said and threw Kaho's head back, then stood up, "I may as well ask you, since you're gonna die. Did you like my birthday present on your fifteenth birthday?"

"What p-present? Kaho asked.

Misora smirked.

"I'm hurt you don't remember." she said, "But I'm sure your parents do. After all, they were the victims. Then again, how could they remember? They're dead."

Kaho's eyes widened. She placed her hands on the floor and pushed herself up, so that she was in the crawling position.

"You sent somebody to kill them?" she asked in a calm voice.

Misora turned and began to walk away.

"He was supposed to kill you, actually, but I was told he couldn't find you and your parents wouldn't tell him where you were. He told me he had no use for them, so he killed them." she said, still walking.

Kaho slowly stood up, her hair casting shadows on her eyes. She clenched her hands into fists, so tightly that her knuckles were white and trembling. Kaho finally tilted her head up to look at Misora, her brows furrowed and trembling.

"Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you to deserve the loss my only family and my life?" she shouted.

Misora stopped.

"You have no idea what I went through since you forgot and especially when I came to this world four months ago. It's all your fault." she said angrily.

"What're you talking about?" Kaho demanded.

"Hmph. Even now you don't remember." Misora said, "Nakago!"

Suddenly, a tall, dark figure appeared in front of Misora and stepped forward. Kaho recognized the man as the blond haired general.

Kaho's eyes widened she saw the shining blue character on his forehead.

"Yes, your eminence, Priestess of Seiryu?" Nakago asked.

Misora turned her head to look back at Kaho.

"You two have already been acquainted, so no need for introductions. Nakago is a celestial warrior of Seiryu, one of my servants." she said, smiling, "Pretty interesting, huh?"

Kaho stared at Misora, utter confusion on her face.

"Wait a damn minute!" Kaho shouted and took a struggling step forward.

"Bye, Kaho." Misora said, then turned her head back and began to walk away.

Nakago intervened in Kaho's path, staring at her with his cold blue eyes. The character on his forehead glowed brighter.

"Her eminence will summon Seiryu, and I shall allow no one to interfere with that!" he said confidently, "Die!"

With the twitch of his eye, Nakago send small blades of invisible energy at Kaho.

Sensing something coming towards her, Kaho took up a defensive stance. Her arms crossed in front of her face and her legs parted. No sooner had she done her stance, the energy blades began cutting at Kaho, pushing her back slightly. The cuts they were left around her body were deep and blood immediately began to flow out, staining her clothes.

Kaho glared at Nakago. Although she looked very strong and sturdy on the outside, the truth is that she was incredibly tired, and was having trouble standing up. Whatever was on the shrine, it was sapping her strength.

'Dammit... I can't fight this guy in my current state.' she thought bitterly, 'What'm I supposed to do?'

Nakago continued to stare at her. Misora had stopped behind Nakago and had turned around to watch the show, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You'll be an obstacle when her eminence calls upon Seiryu." Nakago started, "You are an enemy of Kutou, you shall never return to Konan."

Kaho ignored him for the moment and returned her attention to Misora.

"Misora!" she shouted, "Tell me! Tell me what it is that I've forgotten; that you're so furious about!"

"What's the point? You wouldn't remember anyway!" Misora answered, "No matter what I did back then, you wouldn't remember!"

Outside the shrine...

Tasuki ran at the doors again, trying to force his way through the wards. Once again, he proved no match for them and was repelled back.

"Dammit! I can't even touch the damned door!" he said and wiped the sweat off his chin, "Ain't there anythin' we can do?"

"Guess it's time to give it all I've got, no da." Chichiri said. He put his forefingers and middle fingers together and furrowed his brow in concentration, looking for a way in.

Back inside the shrine...

Kaho stood her ground from yet another wave of energy blades from Nakago. By now, not only was she having trouble standing, she was having trouble staying awake. She had lost too much blood and she was tired from defending herself from his attacks.

"Misora... tell me... so I can understand...!" Kaho said wearily.

Misora scowled and turned away.

"Doesn't anything shut her up?" she shouted.

Nakago closed his eyes and focused his power. He snapped his eyes open and sent one last wave of energy blades at her, as well as a little something extra.

Kaho defended herself from the blades once more. Once the attack had subsided, Kaho eased a bit, a costly mistake. The minute Kaho let down her guard, a blast of energy hit her. She tried to defend herself again, but she was too unprepared and lost her footing. She was sent flying back to the shrine's doors at an incredible speed.

Just as she was about to hit the door, she stopped, slouched in mid-air.

Suddenly sensing another presence, Nakago's eyes widened a bit with the slightest bit of shock and surprise.

Chichiri materialized in front of the doors, Kaho in his arms.

"That was close, no da!" he said and gently landed on the ground, "You coulda died if you hit the wall, no da."

Kaho cracked her eyes open at the familiar voice.

"Chichiri...?" she whispered weakly.

"A creature of Suzaku came through the wards." Nakago said, his expression returning to serious, "I see you have learned the way."

Chichiri gently placed Kaho's feet on the floor. With one arm around her to support her up, he used the other arm to prepare a spell. He hooked his thumb through his necklace and straightened his fingers upward. His brows furrowed in anger.

Chichiri concentrated his energy so that it surrounded the two. With a small "hmph!" he sent the energy throughout the shrine, making sure to touch everything solid, creating a large explosion. Pieces of rubble were flying everywhere and water spilled on the ground.

Nakago quickly rushed to Misora and shielded her.

Outside the shrine...

Tasuki stood outside the shrine, impatiently waiting for Chichiri to come back.

Suddenly, light shone from the windows, followed by an explosion.

"What the-?" Tasuki shouted and quickly braced himself.

When the flying debris had stopped and the dust had cleared, Tasuki lowered his arms. His eyes widened in dread at what he saw. There stood Chichiri with Kaho, but she was badly injured. She had blood all over her and she was barely standing. The only thing supporting her up was Chichiri's arm around her.

Nakago looked over Misora, then stood up when he saw she was alright. He turned to face Tasuki, a smug smile on his face.

"Impressive. But there's still no way a warrior of Suzaku can break through the warded barrier." he said confidently.

"Kaho..." Tasuki whispered. From Kaho, he turned his attention to the blond haired man, who he knew now was Nakago, and Misora. As quick as his fear had come, it had gone and was replaced by rage.

Tasuki grabbed the tessen on his back and took a step forward, coming into contact with the wards' barrier. But he trudged on and took another step.

Nakago's eyes narrowed into a surprised scowl.

Tasuki took another step and ignited his tessen.

"What did ya do ta her?" he growled angrily.

Misora watched with wide, shocked eyes.

"Tasuki..." she muttered.

Nakago held an arm out in front of her.

"Stand back, priestess." he said.

Tasuki took another step, pacing himself. The barrier began to inflict damage to him. Cuts were appearing on his body and blood was flowing out.

"I asked ya a question, dammit!" he shouted angrily.

Nakago remained silent. How it was that a warrior of Suzaku was forcing his way through the wards was beyond his comprehension.

Step after step, one faster than the last, Tasuki's pace quickened, and soon he was running. The barrier began to have little to no effect on him at all. As he neared the end of the barrier, he brandished the ignited the tessen in front of him.

"REKKA SHIEN!" he shouted, as he finally made it through the barrier. A blue flame burst forth and was aimed at Nakago.

Nakago quickly pushed Misora away and used his powers to create a shield in front of him, defending himself from the attack for now. Sweat dripped down his face from the intense heat of Tasuki's attack. Finally, the attack subsided. Nakago stood up straight, glaring at Tasuki, but for a reason different than his attack.

Tasuki immediately rushed over to Kaho. Chichiri knelt down and gently handed Kaho to him.

Kaho looked at the girl in his arms, a worried expression on his face.

"Kaho! It's me!" he said, "Are ya alright?"

Kaho wearily opened her eyes and smiled.

"Tasuki..." she said tiredly, "You always see me at such bad times... It's no wonder you worry so much..."

Tasuki's expression softened.

"Ya little idiot... Don't joke around in a situation like this." he said softly, then from one of his pockets, he pulled out Kaho's necklace.

Kaho's eyes widened a bit in a surprise.

"How did you get it back?" she asked.

Using one hand to hold her, he used the other hand to take the backpack from her shoulder and put the necklace inside one of the pockets.

"Well, ain't my power speed?" he asked with a toothy grin. "An' it just so happens I'm a bandit leader, specializin' in stealin'."

Kaho nodded and understood what he had done. While he had distracted Nakago with the fire attack, he had used his celestial speed to run up to Misora and take the necklace, then made his way back just as the fire subsided. Unfortunately, he did not have enough time to take the scroll back.

Misora gasped. She quickly reached a hand up to touch her neck, to find that the necklace was indeed gone. She lowered her hand and stared jealously at Kaho. It wasn't fair that she became Priestess of Suzaku. It wasn't fair that nearly her whole life she had someone to depend on. It wasn't fair that Kaho was loved deeply, while she was not. She clenched her hands tightly, making her knuckles go white.

"Thanks, Tasuki." said Kaho.

Taking the straw hat from his back, Chichiri cast a quick spell on it and held it out to Tasuki.

"Tasuki! You have to carry Kaho through my hat!" he said, "It'll take you straight to her!"

Tasuki looked up at Chichiri, confusion on his face.

"Her?" he asked, "Who-"

"I'll hold 'em off here!" Chichiri interrupted, "Now go!"

Tasuki nodded and took the hat.

Nakago took a step forward.

"You won't escape!" he shouted and narrowed his eyes, sending an energy blast at them.

Chichiri stepped forward. He placed his hands in front of him, palms faced forward, and blocked the attack.

"Chichiri!" Tasuki shouted worriedly.

As the attack passed, Chichiri's mask became loose and fell to the ground.

Kaho and Tasuki stared at the mask floating on the water's surface. Silent gasps came from their lips. From his mask, their gaze trailed up to his face. But since they were on his right side, they could only see the right portion of his face. His brown eye was narrowed in concentration and there seemed to be some sort of scratch over his nose.

"Go now!" Chichiri shouted, "I'll follow right after!"

Facing Kaho again, Tasuki placed the hat in front of her, and gently pushed her to go in with his other hand.

"Kaho, go!" he shouted.

Kaho silently took a final glance at Misora. After a moment, she entered the hat. Tasuki followed soon after.

Defending himself one more time, Chichiri gripped the hat's rim with one hand and placed it on his head.

"It's time to stop playing around." he said, then let go of the hat. The hat dropped to the ground without resistance, absorbing him.

Nakago walked over to the fallen hat and kneeled down. He lifted the hat up and was slightly surprised to find nothing left of his enemies. He turned his head to look at Misora.

"Forgive me, your eminence. They escaped." he said.

"That's alright, Nakago." she replied and raised her left hand to look at her scar, "Where would the fun be if it were over this quickly?"

Elsewhere...

"Kaho!"

Kaho fluttered her eyes open.

"Tasuki..." she acknowledged, then realized that he was bare-chested and leaning over her, "What the-"

She balled her hands into fists and grit her teeth.

Realizing what she was about to do, Tasuki quickly backed away.

"Wait! It ain't what ya think!" he said desperately, waving his hands in front of him.

Kaho glared at him with angered eyes. She held a fist up and clenched it, cracking her knuckles.

"You have one second to explain." she said in a dangerously low voice.

"What?" he shouted.

"Time's up!" Kaho said quickly. She used a series of uppercuts and punches on Tasuki's face.

"I didn't take yer' clothes off! We were both nude when I woke up!" Tasuki said, slightly exasperated, and rubbed his cheek.

Kaho stopped for a moment and lifted the blanket that was over her. She was surprised to see that her wounds had been healed and now that she thought about it, so were Tasuki's. Her thoughts trailed back to the events at Kutou and she lowered the blanket.

_You have no idea what I've been through since you forgot, and especially when I came to this world four months ago..._

_I like Tasuki, so I'll take him from you..._

'Tasuki will be taken from me...' she thought sadly, 'What is it that happened to her when she came to this world? What is it I forgot...?'

Tasuki watched her for a moment, wondering why she suddenly became so quiet.

"Kaho?" he asked, "You alright?"

Kaho snapped back to her senses and looked at Tasuki.

"I want to go back to Kutou." she said.

"What?" Tasuki shouted, shocked at her unexpected reply.

"There's something I need to ask Misora." Kaho said. She wrapped herself in the blanket and was about to stand, but the blanked was yanked out of her hands. She wrapped the blanked around herself again, but it was yanked out again. She wrapped it around herself one more time and kept a firm hold.

"Gimme the sheet!" she yelled at Tasuki, who was tugging on the blanket.

"Dummy! Yer' all tied up in it!" he yelled back, "There's only one sheet! Ya wanna see me naked?"

Kaho gave a hard tug and won the tug-of-war. Losing his grip on the blanket, Tasuki fell backwards, allowing all to see areas that shouldn't be seen.

Kaho blushed furiously and hid her face with the blanket.

"The second your wounds are healed, you start horsing around?"

Tasuki sat up and turned his attention to the doors. Kaho did the same. Least to say, they were surprised to see Taiitsukun standing at the doorway. In her hand was an old, gnarled, wooden staff. Chichiri stood behind her and four Nyan Nyan girls stood beside him with their clothes and her bag.

"Taiitsukun?" Kaho and Tasuki exclaimed.

"Then, this is Mt. Taikyoku?" Tasuki asked.

"It's been a while, Kaho, Tasuki." Taiitsukun greeted them, "Chichiri suddenly appears carrying you two, and you're covered in blood!"

"Kaho! Long time no see!" the Nyan Nyans said cheerfully.

"Fortunately, your wounds were light enough, so I-" Taiitsukun continued.

"Healed you! Healed you!" the Nyan Nyans chimed, then, "Fixed your clothes! Fixed your clothes!"

Taiitsukun whirled around and raised an angry fist at them.

"I can't get a word in-" she yelled.

"Yeah!" they said happily.

Chichiri took Kaho's clothes from Nyan Nyan and held them out to her. Tasuki sat on the edge of the bed, mumbling gloomily to himself.

"Chichiri, why would you..." she began and took her clothes from him.

Chichiri stood straight up and gripped the edge of his mask.

"I had the honor," he said and tugged down on his mask, revealing a lone brown eye and a large scar on his left eye, sealing his eye shut, "of training here for three years, no da."

After getting dressed, Kaho explained her situation to Taiitsukun.

"So you insist on going back to Kutou?" Taiitsukun asked.

Kaho nodded.

"I want to ask Misora what happened to her four months ago." she said.

"If you insist...! But there is no need for you to return to Kutou." Taiitsukun said and motioned them all to follow her, "Follow me!"

Tasuki and Chichiri, who had put his mask back on, looked to each other with questioning faces.

Everyone followed Taiitsukun to a large room with a giant golden mirror. On each corner of the mirror were symbols of the four gods. Purple curtains surrounded the mirror and cable-like wires were linked to the mirror's back.

"That is one big mirror." Kaho commented.

"This mirror contains the memories of the entire world." Taiitsukun explained and pointed her staff at the mirror, "It should be able to show us what happened in Kutou four months ago."

The mirror's screen flashed to Misora. Misora was in a very shady part of town, looking left and right, not knowing where she was going.

_"Where am I?"_ Misora asked herself.

"That part a' town ain't safe fer' a girl!" Tasuki said, recognizing the area as the Kutou slums.

As Misora rounded a corner, two men looked up, lecherous grins on their faces. They stood up and walked up to her.

Misora tried to run, but one of the men grabbed her arm before she could.

_"What's a pretty girl like you doing here?"_ he asked.

_"Don't you know it's not safe to be all alone on the streets?"_ the other said.

Kaho watched in shocked horror. Misora's screams echoed in her ears. What is one supposed to think when their enemy is... well... being raped?

Tasuki closed his eyes and looked away.

_"Somebody! Please! Help me!"_ Misora yelled.

_"Hey! Shut this stupid girl up!"_ the man on top of Misora yelled to the other.

The other man walked over with a large piece of wood and whacked her on the head.

_"Kaho..."_ Misora whispered before she fainted.

Kaho's eyes widened.

'Why did she say my name?' she wondered.

Unable to watch anymore, Kaho closed her eyes.

"I've seen enough." she said and the screen turned blank.

Kaho opened her eyes and stared at the ground.

'That's why she slit her wrists...' she realized. Finally, she looked up at Taiitsukun. "Can you show me... Misora's childhood? She seems to remember something I don't, and I want to know what it is."

Taiitsukun raised an eyebrow.

"Very well, but we will need to go to a different room." she said and motioned everyone to follow.

Taiitsukun led them all to a dark room filled with many different sized mirrors.

"Hey, this is the room we saw Kaho's memories in." Tasuki said, recognizing the room.

"That's correct." Taiitsukun said and stopped in front of a large mirror, biggest of the ones in the room, "Gaze into the mirror."

The mirror emitted a bright, white light and everyone shielded their eyes. When they uncovered their eyes, they could themselves in a wide room with Children sitting on the floor, playing with toys. There didn't seem to be an adult in the room.

Kaho looked around, recognizing her surroundings.

"This is where I went to preschool." she said.

"Really, no da?" Chichiri asked, and looked around, "Which one's you?"

Kaho looked around. She walked over to a small group of four children in a corner of the room. Two were girls and two were boys. In one of the boys' hands was a teddy bear.

Kaho pointed to the black haired girl.

"That's me." she said, then looked to the girl beside her and raised an eyebrow. Beside her was a blond haired girl, "It couldn't be..."

"Yeah?" Tasuki asked and kneeled down to take a closer look at Kaho.

"Sousuke! Give it back!" the blond haired girl cried.

The boy holding the bear held it up in the air.

"Make me! Na na na na na!" he taunted.

The blond haired girl puffed up her cheeks, then lunged at the boy with the bear, sending the two toppling over and fighting. The other boy reached over and was about to pull her off his friend, but his hand was caught by the younger Kaho.

"Let me go, red eyes." he growled and received a punch to the face.

Tasuki blinked. He stood up and faced the older Kaho.

"Ya were a violent kid!" he exclaimed and received a punch to the face from Kaho, "Ow! Not much changed..."

Kaho glared at him and he immediately shut up.

Eventually the children's fight ended and the girls lost the fight. They may have come out with battered bodies and bruised bones... and perhaps a missing tooth or two, but also large grins.

"We might have wost the fight, but we stuck up fow ouwsewves!" little Kaho said.

"Yeah!" the blond haired girl said, "We'w be best fwiends fowevew, wight, Kaho?"

Kaho nodded.

"Wight, Misowa!" she said, "Wet's pinky sweaw on it!"

Kaho's eyes widened, as well as Tasuki's.

'We were best friends once?' she thought, amazed, 'What happened to make her hate me...?'

"Who knew you an' 'er were good friends." Tasuki said, disbelief in his voice.

"Who's Misora now, no da?" Chichiri asked.

"That girl you saw in Kutou... She's Misora." Kaho replied.

Chichiri's brow furrowed.

"What could have made her become your enemy, no da?" Chichiri asked.

Kaho shrugged.

"If I knew that, we wouldn't be here." she replied.

The scene blurred away. Another one replaced it and they found themselves outside the preschool.

"I have ta wait fow my pawents. I'w see you in elementawy next year, Kaho."

Everyone turned to their left so see Kao and Misora standing at the corner of a crosswalk.

Kaho (little) nodded, then began to walk across the street. Suddenly, everyone could hear sirens on the other side of the street. Kaho stopped in the middle of the street and listened.

A black car suddenly came out from an intersection on the bottom left side of the street and turned right, driving incredibly fast towards Kaho. Police cars also came out of the intersection, chasing the black car.

Kaho (little) stood frozen in fear, in the middle of the street. The cars were coming closer and closer.

"Kaho, look out!"  
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Author notes: Oh the joy of finishing another chapter. I had a little trouble the kids' speech... I figured preschool children, why not have them sound strange? I think it was a little much. At first I thought I would only change the "r"s to "w"s, but then I thought whether or not if preschool kids... or babies could say "L"s too. So I decided to change them to "w"s as well. Tell me if you think it's a bit much. I hope you liked this chapter! I hope to update again sometime in August.


	17. Chapter 17

Author notes: Alrighty! This is the last update of the summer! I managed to write five chapters all together within two months. That's amazing, for me, anyway XD. Summer is almost over. I'm gonna spend the rest of my summer playin' games, alrighty? Alrighty. As much as I have enjoyed writing my chapters, I spent most of my summer doing that. Now I need to rest my brain and not go crazy. Hope you like this chapter!  
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The cars sped by, and soon, they couldn't be seen or heard anymore. On the right side of the street were Kaho and Misora, unconscious.

"Somebody call an ambulance! Hurry!"

Kaho (big) furrowed her brow in frustration.

"I can't remember any of this at all..." she muttered.

The scene blurred away, like the other, and was replaced by another.

Chichiri, Tasuki, and Kaho found themselves in a small, white room with a large window. To their right, was the younger Kaho, and Misora. Kaho was laying in a bed, sleeping, and had bandages around her head. Misora was standing at Kaho's bedside, since if she sat, she wouldn't be able to see over the bed. She had a very worried expression on her face.

"I hope you get bettew, Kaho. We'w stiw be best fwiends, wight?" she said quietly.

"Come on, honey, we have to let Kaho rest."

A woman with long brown hair walked through Tasuki and leaned down to Misora to gently grasp her hand. She began to walk with Misora to the door.

"But, mommy!" Misora protested.

"No "buts", Misora." her mother said.

Misora frowned and turned her head to look back at Kaho.

"I'w come back, okay, Kaho?" she said.

Misora and her mother walked through the group and out the door.

Tasuki blinked and pressed his hands over his chest.

"Man, that felt weird." he said.

The scene blurred away again. This time, they found themselves in the same room, but Kaho (younger) was sitting up in her bed. She still had bandages around her head and was drinking something out of a foam cup.

"Kaho!"

Misora ran into the room excitedly and stood by her bedside.

"I'm gwad you'we finawy awake!" she said happily, "The doctow said you got a big bump on youw head, but he made it aw bettew. Maybe when youw out, you can come ovew and we can have a tea pawty and pway wif dows an' stuff!"

Kaho's (bigger) jaw dropped and her eyes retracted into their sockets until they were little white specks.

'Dolls?' she exclaimed in her mind.

Tasuki covered his mouth with a hand and snickered.

"I can't see you playing with dolls, no da, even if you were a child..." Chichiri said.

Kaho turned her head quickly to glare at the monk.

"No offense, no da." Chichiri said hurriedly.

Kaho (little) had momentarily stopped drinking whatever it was in her cup and blinked at Misora. She put the cup down on a small desk, then looked at Misora with a questioning look.

"I'm sowwy, but... who awe you?" she asked.

Misora's happy expression faded and was replaced by shock.

Everyone's eyes widened and they gasped.

"Out friendship is what I forgot..." Kaho whispered.

Misora leaned closer to Kaho. She had a forced smile plastered on her face and eyes that were blank with dread.

"What'we you tawking about, Kaho? It's me, Misowa! We'we friends! Don't kid!" she said.

Kaho (little) frowned.

"But I don't even know you. We can't be fwiends." she said.

Misora's smile dropped immediately.

Suddenly, Kaho squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. Her hands came up to clutch her head.

"Kaho...?" Misora whispered.

As a nurse walked by the door, she caught a glance of Kaho holding her head in a pained way and immediately rushed in.

"Miss, what's wrong?" she asked urgently.

"My head huwts..." Kaho groaned.

The nurse picked up a white phone on the wall (HA HA! Camouflage) and requested another nurse and doctor to come. She put the phone back on the wall, then noticed Misora by the bedside.

"Go on, little one" the nurse said and began to walk Misora out of the room, "You mustn't bother her right now. Come back another day."

Misora looked back with a frown, tears in her eyes.

"B-but, Kaho!" she cried and tried to pull away from the nurse, "Kaho! Kaho! It's me! Misowa! Pwease wemembew me! Kaho!"

The nurse dragged Misora out of the room, and into the hall, where her mother was waiting.

The scene blurred away again and was replaced by another. Scene after scene appeared and disappeared, all with the same white room. Misora continuously showed up, trying to get her "friend" to remember her. She had brought the bear from the preschool, to the boys the two fought, to parents, and a few more things to Kaho, all in an attempt to help her regain her memory. But it was all in vain; nothing seemed to work.

As Kaho (bigger) watched everything, Misora's words at Kutou came back to her.

_No matter what I did back then, you wouldn't remember!_

Another scene of Misora came up, but this time, she had come back empty handed.

After listening to another one of Misora's attempts, Kaho (little) turned her head to the window.

"Could... you stop tewwing me these things?" she said, "I dono who you awe, okay? It's too hawd... Sowwy..."

Misora's shoulders slumped and she turned around, knowing very well what the message was. She began to walk away, a forlorn expression on her features.

"Come on, Misora. We're going home."

A man with short, dirty blond hair walked in and grabbed Misora's hand. His tone of voice and action seemed rather... aggressive to Kaho (bigger). He dragged Misora away and everything blurred away.

The next scene had a different surrounding this time. They found themselves in a small kitchen. It was a typical island kitchen layout, very clean and fairly organized.

Kaho, Tasuki, and Chichiri were standing in front of the table (empty space side), while two other people stood on the opposite side; a man and a woman, and they appeared to be arguing.

Kaho recognized them as Misora's parents.

"Who was that other man?" her father shouted.

"I told you before! He's nobody!" her mother shouted back.

"You're lying! I saw him kiss you!"

"On the cheek!"

Misora (little) walked in upon hearing the shouting. In her arms, she carried a floppy, blue bunny doll.

"Mommy, daddy, why'we you fighting...?" she asked, but was not heard by them.

Chichiri frowned.

"This is terrible, no da..." he said, "How can they argue with their child in front of them?"

Misora tugged on her father's sleeve.

"Daddy, can you pwease stop fighting?" she begged.

"Don't play dumb!" her father shouted, then looked down at Misora when she tugged harder, "Not now, Misora."

Misora tugged again.

"But I don't want you to fight!" she said.

"Not now, Misora!" her father said, his voice rising.

"But, daddy!" Misora protested, "Da-"

"I SAID NOT NOW!" he shouted.

SLAP!

Misora fell to the ground. Her hair fell around her face, concealing the tears flowing down and her reddened cheek. The bunny she had been holding had fallen out of her arms and lay on the ground beside her.

Her father stood motionless with his left hand outstretched in the air. He wore a look of shock and regret when he realized what he had done.

Kaho, Tasuki and Chichiri winced.

"Misora... I... I... I didn't mean to..." her father whispered.

Misora grabbed her bunny and ran out of the kitchen to her room.

Everyone heard the door slam.

"How could you hit her?" Misora's mother shouted.

"I didn't mean to! How can you blame me? It was your fault as well!" her father argued.

"MY fault? How is this MY fault?"

"You're the one who provoked me!"

"That's ridiculous! You're the one who started this whole thing!"

Kaho, Tasuki, and Chichiri frowned.

"Let's go find Misora..." Kaho said.

Tasuki and Chichiri nodded. Everyone left the kitchen to Misora's room. It didn't take much searching since there was only one door closed. It was on the second floor of the house.

They walked through the door and found themselves in a dark room. The moon shone its bright light through the window, displaying everything in the room in a gentle glow.

Misora sat on her legs on the floor beside the window. She hiccupped every few seconds, signaling she was crying.

Kaho, Tasuki, and Chichiri walked over to Misora. In Misora's small hands was a picture; a picture of her and Kaho smiling happy grins and posing two peace signs with their fingers. Misora appeared to be... glaring at the photo.

"We wewe supposed to be best fwiends... But, you fowgot me... an' you won't wemembew... evew!" she said quietly. A new batch of tears fell from her eyes and dropped on the photo. She continually wiped them away with the back of her hands.

Eventually, scene by scene passed and Misora's parents' argument continued to escalate and they began to become distant from their daughter. If Misora ever needed something, she would be screamed at by her mother, or slapped, then sent to her room by her father.

Soon, it was time for Misora to be enrolled in elementary school. Her mother was the one to enroll her, but she did it grudgingly. Of course, Misora saw Kaho again, but the constant spurning from her parents only helped to fuel the anger and pain she felt.

One day, after coming home from school (and beating up Kaho...), Misora went straight to her room and sat on her bed. She pulled out the picture of her and Kaho from under her pillow and stared at it with a sad look.

"If I keep doing this... you won't forget me, right? I'm not gonna be forgotten again..." she said quietly and smiled.

At one point, when Misora was seven, her mother had had enough and left, just like that. She had packed everything that belonged to her and left without warning. She just up and said, "Goodbye." and that was that, leaving Misora with her father.

It was this point in life when her father began to drink. He would take his drunken rage out on her and she would end up with a bruised and battered body each time. This continued from the young age of seven, to present time. Misora stayed long hours at school to hopefully avoid being beaten, and it worked sometimes.

Everything disappeared and the three found themselves back at Mt. Taikyoku, in the mirror room.

Kaho stared at the ground, her mind going over what she had just viewed. Everything Misora had ever done; every injury, every insult, and every humiliation was so that she would not be forgotten again. In an ironic way, it sort of worked.

Taiitsukun stood in front of them.

"Did you see everything you needed to see?" she asked.

Kaho looked up at Taiitsukun. She gave a silent nod, then turned around and walked away.

Chichiri and Tasuki exchanged worried glances.

In Kutou...

Misora stood before the emperor in his study room. The emperor was sitting upright in his chair and his lips were curved in a smug smile. Beside Misora was Nakago. He stood with his arms at his sides and a solemn expression on his face.

"So you're the Priestess of Seiryu? Then find the seven warriors of Seiryu and bring them before us." the emperor said, then leaned forward and propped his elbow on his desk and rested his chin on his knuckles, "It's too bad the Priestess of Suzaku escaped. However, I'm sure I can count on you to take care of her, yes?"

"Yes." Misora replied without hesitation. "I will take care of the Priestess of Suzaku."

Nakago glanced over at Misora. His expression did not change.

"We're delighted, your eminence. Then we will not interfere with the affairs of the priestesses." the emperor said delightedly and lowered his hand to his lap, "We will have to postpone the invasion of Konan until she is eliminated. It would be pointless to invade, only to be driven away by the Priestess of Suzaku. That would waste our men's lives."

Misora bowed.

"I understand." she said, then turned and began to walk out of the emperor's study room.

'There's no turning back now, Kaho. I won't let you have your way.' she thought, 'You'll never find happiness with Tasuki, or anybody else. Not ever.'

Nakago turned as well, and followed after her. On his face was a small, devious smile.

Back on Mt. Taikyoku...

Tasuki walked to Chichiri after having done another attempt to get Kaho out of her room.

"Tasuki, how's Kaho, no da?" Chichiri asked.

"No good." Tasuki answered, "She won't come outta her room. At this rate, she'll..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Taiitsukun popped out of nowhere, in front of his face, upside down, and scaring the crap out of him. Tasuki screamed and hid behind Chichiri.

"After three years, I'm used to it, no da." Chichiri said as a matter of factly.

"I'll have to take over." Taiitsukun said and began to walk in the direction of Kaho's room.

With Kaho...

Kaho sat cross-legged on her bed with her back to the door. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and she was staring blankly at her bed.

'Even after seeing it... I still don't remember. It's as if I was watching a completely different life and it was new information entering my brain...' she thought sadly, 'How do I face Misora now, knowing that her life is worse than mine by far...? She's already suffered so much...'

"Are you not satisfied with your answers?"

Kaho turned her head to find Taiitsukun floating in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but returned to normal again soon and her gaze dropped back to her bed.

"It's not that..." she answered, "I just... don't know what to do... I mean, how do I help an enemy when I know their life, that they deserve more than me, and if I were to strike back, everything for them would shatter. Their only chance for happiness would disappear... I don't know if I can do something like that, even if it is at the cost of myself..."

"Kaho, look at this." Taiitsukun said and pulled out a small, golden mirror from her robes.

Kaho turned her head again to Taiitsukun. She noticed the mirror and stared at it, seeing only her reflection. Her eyes widened in surprise when a white light burst forth from the mirror.

Kaho blinked. She found herself staring at a very blue space, and white fluffy things that resembled clouds. When she thought about it, it seemed like she was staring at the sky. She looked left and right, but saw nothing but the same thing as far as the eye could see. Finally, she looked down to find herself staring at a LOT of small, red roofs. She realized that she was in the sky-in a manner of speaking- and she had no idea when she was going to fall.

"What the hell? What the hell? What the HELL?" she panicked and began trying to desperately claw her way up. Well, obviously, since there was nothing for her to grab, she didn't move an inch. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she heard Taiitsukun's voice.

_Idiot, look down!_

Kaho calmed down and complied. Upon taking a more careful look at the city below her, she noticed that she was above a very familiar building.

"Hey, isn't that..." she murmured.

Kaho disappeared, then reappeared inside a small, spacious room with a pair of open doors that led to the outer walkway.

Sitting upon the walkway's railings was Hotohori. This proved Kaho's assumption correct. She had been looking down at the palace, and was now in it.

Hotohori was wearing his imperial robes. He had his hair neatly held up, with an exception of a few strands of hair of his bangs, in his imperial hat. He sat with one leg over the other, an elbow propped against his knee, and his chin resting gently on his knuckles. He seemed a little paler than usual, and his expression was that of worry.

"Hotohori..." she acknowledged.

"Your majesty, you should rest. Your majesty has not eaten nor slept for days!"

Kaho turned her head to find Nuriko and Tamahome walking towards her and Hotohori. She blinked when they walked right past her.

"They can't see me." she said aloud.

Nuriko wore his pink overall tunic and still had his hair in a braid. Tamahome wore his sleeveless gray over tunic with a dark shirt underneath. (Basically, they never changed.)

Hotohori looked up at the two.

"I am too preoccupied with affairs of state-as well as with Kaho- to eat." he said gravely, "If only I knew she was safe..."

"Please don't worry. Tasuki and Chichiri are with her." Nuriko said reassuringly, "Besides, she is the Priestess of Suzaku!"

Kaho flinched at his words.

Tamahome turned his head away slightly, glaring at nothing in particular.

"Although, if Tasuki's there, you can't be sure." he muttered, and received an elbow to the gut from Nuriko.

Fortunately, Hotohori did not seem to hear, but he relaxed the slightest bit at Nuriko's comforting words.

"Perhaps you're right." he said, "Her indomitable spirit will grace our presence soon enough."

Kaho stared in silence at her three warriors. In a flash of light, she disappeared again, and reappeared just above the city's rooftops. People were hustling and bustling, and busily chatting away.

"Is it true Kutou is going to attack?" one villager asked.

"They say a village on the western border was already invaded!" another said.

"How could they, when the Priestess of Suzaku is on our side?"

Kaho flinched again.

_You no longer live simply for yourself... You have responsibilities._

'But...' Kaho thought.

_If you deny them, why did you become the Priestess of Suzaku?_

Kaho disappeared again. This time, she appeared in her own world, in her school.

Ding... Dong... Ding... Dong...

Kaho's eyes widened in surprise.

'School?' she thought, 'That's right... I promised to get a good education and finish school...'

Everything vanished and Kaho found herself back in her room on Mt. Taikyoku.

Kaho blinked, then looked at Taiitsukun.

"Now do you know what you need to do?" Taiitsukun asked.

Kaho nodded and stood up.

'She's right. Wallowing in misery won't help at all.' she thought and began to walk towards the doors, 'The fact that I'm in this... book, that I've become the Priestess of Suzaku, and what happened to Misora... It's reality. I can't hide from it.'

Misora opened the doors.

'What's most important right now, is what I can do.' she finished.

Tasuki and Chichiri's heads perked up at her.

"Kaho!" Tasuki exclaimed.

Kaho looked forward with a resolute face.

"I'm sorry I worried you two. Let's go back to Konan!" she said with a smile, "Then we'll find the other two warriors of Suzaku!"

Tasuki and Chichiri's faces brightened as they heard her optimistic words.

"Kaho!" Tasuki said and walked over to hug her, but instead, she walked past him, as if she didn't notice him. Tasuki stopped, looked back and blinked, "Eh?"

Kaho continued walking, the smile still on her lips.

'The only way to fix things now, is to find all the warriors and call upon Suzaku. Then, and only then, will things be settled between Misora and I.' she thought, 'For now, I have to put aside my feelings for you. Besides, Misora likes you...'

Back in Kutou.

Misora sat in the windowsill of her room. One leg balanced herself by staying on the ground, while the other was bent and its foot lay flat on the window's frame. Her elbow lay against her bent leg with her chin in her palm, and the other hand held a goblet. Misora stared out of her window in deep thought, a distant look on her face.

"What is wrong, your eminence?"

Misora snapped out of her trance and turned to see Nakago standing beside her.

"Nothing." she answered and silently sighed.

"Were you thinking about that Suzaku boy?" Nakago asked.

Misora took a sip from her cup. An image of Tasuki ran through her mind.

"Were you?" Nakago asked again, 'That may be for the best.'

Misora turned herself fully around, both feet on the floor and facing Nakago.

"Eh... What?" she asked curiously.

"You desire that "Tasuki" boy, no?" Nakago asked, and his lips curled into a sly smile, "Then, your wish is my command."

Misora stared at him in utter confusion.

In Konan...

"Your majesty! The Priestess of Suzaku has arrived!"

Kaho, Tasuki, and Chichiri stood in the throne room of Konan's palace. It was night time when they arrived, via Taiitsukun's magic.

"I'm back, Hotohori!" Kaho said cheerfully.

Hotohori stared in Kaho with wide, shocked eyes, as if this was all a dream. He had his long brown hair down and was wearing his night robes with his imperial robe draped around his shoulders like a shawl.

"Kaho!" he whispered. He ran down the steps of the raised dais and wrapped his arms around Kaho, pulling her to him and embracing her as if he were afraid that she would disappear if he let go. He squeezed his eyes shut, relief washing over him. "Kaho! I'm so relieved. You made it back!"

Tasuki inwardly growled. His lips curved into a small frown and he stared at Hotohori with envy.

Hotohori seemed to have sensed this and looked up. His gaze met with Tasuki's and the two stared at each other for a moment, as if speaking to each other telepathically.

"Yeah. Chichiri took us to Taiitsukun's mountain. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused." Kaho said and pulled away from Hotohori a bit, "I'm exhausted, so I'm going to my room... Oh, I never introduced Chichiri."

Kaho turned her head to look back at the blue haired monk.

Chichiri's head perked up at his name. He placed his palm over his fist and bowed lightly.

"N-no da!" he said nervously.

Hotohori stared at the blue haired man with wide eyes, finding it awkwardly hard to believe that he was Chichiri, the fifth warrior of Suzaku.

"Kaho!"

"Kaho!"

Kaho turned her head to see Nuriko and Tamahome running towards her. She broke away from Hotohori and passed Tasuki to meet the two.

"Hey, Nuriko!" she said happily, then noticed that Nuriko was back in women's clothes, "What happened to the guy clothes? You were doing so well with those."

Nuriko cupped his cheek and tilted his head upwards. His eyes closed into a dreamy expression.

"Yeah, but I look so much better in women's clothes." he said.

"Enough about that." Tamahome said and the three began walking to out of the throne room, "So what did you go to Kutou for, Kaho?"

Kaho smiled sheepishly.

"Eh... Well..." she started.

Having had enough of just standing by and watching, Tasuki whirled around and gritted his teeth in a growl. He raised a fist in anger.

"That... little...!" he snarled.

Hotohori stayed silent and stared at Tasuki, feeling the slightest bit of envy towards the other warrior.

With Kaho...

Nuriko and Tamahome had left Kaho when they had arrived at her room to let her rest.

Kaho lay sprawled on her bed with her legs swung over the edge. She rested for a moment more before she got off her bed and knelt down on the floor beside it. She brought her backpack in front of her and began to dig around for a new set of clothes.

With Tasuki...

Tasuki stomped angrily down the hall to Kaho's room, his face contorted into an angry pout. He stopped in front of her room and pushed the doors open.

"Kaho, we need ta' talk!" he said, but quickly regretted opening the doors. He found her shirtless (but with a bra) and she had the angriest aura he had ever seen. Her eyes turned into narrow slits, but she did not turn to him. Sweat drops began to run down his face.

"Get... Out..." Kaho said in a dangerous tone.

Tasuki immediately closed the doors and stood beside them. He gulped as a faint blush appeared over his nose.

After a few minutes, he heard her voice behind the doors.

"Come in if you want." she said.

Tasuki gulped. He hesitantly pushed open the door and stepped in. Fortunately, she was dressed his time. She was wearing a black tank top with black shorts with pockets at the sides. But seeing her in clothes that revealed a great deal more than what he was used to, his mind began diving into the gutter.

"What do you want?" Kaho asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tasuki shook his head, disposing of the bad thoughts and returned his mind to the current task at hand.

"Why're ya avoidin' me?" he demanded.

Kaho stared at him for a moment, then turned her head to the side, averting her gaze. She turned around and began walking to her bed. Tasuki followed after her, closing the doors behind him.

"Tasuki... From tomorrow on, I'll be devoting myself to the search for the warriors of Suzaku." she said.

"What does that have ta' do with anythin'?" Tasuki asked.

Kaho now stood beside her bed, her body facing it and her side facing Tasuki.

"I'm the Priestess of Suzaku; you're a celestial warrior." she stated, "We have to behave ourselves."

Kaho turned to Tasuki and forced a small smile on her face.

"So you can't just come barging into my room like this! And-" she said, but was cut off when Tasuki grabbed her by her shoulders and crushed his lips to hers.

Kaho's eyes widened and she fell back onto her bed. She pulled and turned her head away.

"Tasuki, stop!" she cried. She was now lying on her back on her bed. Her hair was fanned out on the surface with Tasuki leaning over her and pinning her to the bed. She struggled slightly against him. "Tasuki, let me go!"

"I won't!" he said defiantly, "Ya think I'm gonna say, "Yes, ma'am! Whatever ya say," when it don't make any sense?"

"You don't understand!" Kaho cried. She stared up at him with anguish in her eyes, "Maybe you didn't see it, but I did..."

Tasuki stared confusedly at her, waiting for the answer.

"Misora is in love with you!" she said.

Tasuki's eyes widened. As Tasuki released his hold on Kaho, the two heard a sound at the doors. They turned their heads to see Hotohori standing in the open doorway. He stood with an angry expression on his face, his eyes reflecting it as well.

"Yer' majesty." Tasuki acknowledged and stood up to face the emperor. As he did so, Hotohori drew his sword out from its scabbed and positioned the tip at Tasuki's neck.

Tasuki glared at the other warrior, his serious expression unwavering.

Kaho jumped up from her bed.

"Hotohori, stop!" she pleaded and took a step forward, but Tasuki held an outstretched arm out in front of her, preventing her from going any further. She looked at Tasuki in confusion.

"If you have anything to say, say it now." Hotohori said in a dangerous tone, "However, you may have stepped beyond any forgiveness."

"I ain't offerin' any excuses, yer' majesty. Just this-" Tasuki answered, "I love Kaho."

Kaho's eyes widened. She stared silently at Tasuki.

"That's all I can say." Tasuki continued, "I ain't gonna let anyone come between us."

Tasuki and Hotohori continued to glare heatedly at each other. Thick tension filled the room.

After another moment, Hotohori finally broke the silence. His lips curled into a small smile and he withdrew his sword.

"Bold words in front of your emperor. Relax. We would not kill a celestial warrior of Suzaku." he said and sheathed his sword. He turned to leave, but looked back over his shoulder at Kaho. "However, if you see before you, not me the emperor, but me the man, then, Kaho, I am also a man who loves you."

Kaho stared at Hotohori with wide eyes as he left her room, her breath caught in her throat.

Finally, the doors closed behind Hotohori. Tasuki flopped onto the floor, panting. His eyes bulged out of his sockets, and sweat drops ran down his face.

"Holy crap! Was I ever scared!" he said, "That was the scariest moment a' my life!"

Rage and concern began to well up in Kaho.

"You idiot! If he killed you, then where would we be?" she yelled, "He's the emperor, dammit! The most important person in the country!"

Tasuki regained his composure. To Kaho's surprise, he gently pushed her back onto the bed so that she was sitting up, and leaned over her again. He braced both his arms on either side of her on the bed.

Kaho stared up at him with wide eyes.

"If it's fer' you, it don't matter." he said softly. Using his right arm to brace himself up, he used his other to roll up the sleeve on his right arm. He switched arms and held his right arm up to Kaho. Before Kaho's eyes, a red, Chinese character emerged from the center of his arm (skin wise).

"Ya know what this mark on my arm means?" he asked.

Kaho studied the character on his arm and raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Uh… Wing?" she asked bluntly.

"Not quite." he answered, "It was the old boss a' the Mt. Reikaku bandits who told me about it. He told me that I would serve the Priestess a' Suzaku, an' that I'd have ta' leave the bandits. But I just joined 'em an' I left my family fer' it. I slaved under a house a' women nearly my entire life, an' the thought of servin' another didn't go down with me. I told 'im I refused ta' serve a woman an' that was that."

Kaho listened to him, feeling her heart drop at his words.

"But... that was a while ago... The old boss got sick an' passed away. I had gone down the mountain ta' get some medicine, but when I came back, it was too late." he continued, "That was around the time I met ya. Ya changed who I was. I'm glad I met ya, 'cause now I finally understand. It means I was born ta' protect ya. I live fer' you!"

"Kaho's eyes widened for a moment before they closed a bit, and began to tremble. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him for dear life. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Tasuki returned her embrace and sat down on the bed with her.

"I'm sorry...!" she whispered, "I'm sorry, Tasuki... I just don't want to lose you... I don't want to be hurt again... Tasuki, I love you..."

Tasuki pulled away and his head lowered to hers. Automatically, their eyes slipped closed and the lips met in a passionate kiss. Wave upon wave of new sensations ran through Kaho. Her face became flushed and her cheeks were a light shade of pink. Her lips tingled, yearning for more.

Finally, breathing became necessary for them and they parted. They embraced each other again. Tasuki shifted so that his mouth was just below her ear.

"Ya'd have ta' do a lot ta' get rid a' me." he whispered, "I belong ta' you, an' only you."

Kaho could feel his warm breath on her ear and neck. She hugged him tighter, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Will you be with me forever?" she asked, "We'll never be separated?"

Tasuki nodded against her neck.

"Stupid girl, a'course." he answered.

Kaho relaxed a bit, relishing the moment.

'I'm sorry, Misora... Hotohori...' she thought.

With Hotohori...

Hotohori stood near Kaho's room, gazing sadly into the courtyard. He had a feeling he had already lost Kaho to Tasuki, but he still hoped that perhaps, he still had a chance.

Suddenly, he sensed an ominous presence. He looked around quickly, and focused on Kaho's room. He sensed the presence coming from within there.

Back with Tasuki and Kaho...

An ominous feeling suddenly ran through Tasuki, and he broke apart from Kaho. He stood up and looked around.

Kaho stood as well and stared up at his shocked face, growing worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Somethin' ain't right..." he answered.

Hotohori burst open the doors and quickly stepped in.

"On your guard!" he shouted, "There are spirits here! Evil spirits!"

_A message for the Priestess of Suzaku._

All three turned their heads around and about, trying to figure out where the voice came from.

"Who are you?" Kaho demanded, her hands clutching the cloth of Tasuki's shirt.

_Messengers from Kutou. Listen well! There are rumors that we have already invaded several Konan villages. These rumors are true! If you wish to prevent more bloodshed, we require you to present to Kutou one celestial warrior of Suzaku: Tasuki!_

Kaho and Tasuki's eyes widened. Kaho looked up at him with dread.

'I have to give up Tasuki to... Kutou?' she thought.

_We'll say it again. Deliver the warrior of Suzaku-Tasuki- to Kutou, or face war!_

'The only way to stop a war... is to give up Tasuki...' Kaho thought gravely, her gaze dropping to the ground.

Tamahome, Chichiri, and Nuriko came running into Kaho's room. Each of them wore their own sleeping garments. Nuriko wore a bathrobe (guess he sleeps naked?), Tamahome was shirtless, and Chichiri was wearing his regular clothes except for the cape, hat, and staff.

"Kaho, what's this feeling?" Nuriko asked as he ran in.

Chichiri concentrated his energy on finding the source. Once he found it, he used one hand to make a sign to cast a spell. His fingers straightened, pointing upwards, with a thumb bent in.

"Up there!" he shouted, looking at the ceiling. His spell activated, canceling the invisibility spell of the messenger's.

The Kutou messenger growled. He swiftly left the room before Chichiri could cast another spell.

"Dammit! He's too quick!" Nuriko shouted as he watched the messenger escape over the wall of the palace.

Kaho gripped the cloth of his shirt tighter, her knuckles going white.

"Tasuki... Are you... going to go?" she asked hesitantly.

Tasuki gently grasped her hand in one of his, trying to comfort her. He turned his head to Hotohori.

"Yer' majesty! Is it true that villages have been attacked?" he asked.

Hotohori turned to Tasuki, his expression growing grim.

"Yesterday, three villages in the southwest region of Jusou prefecture were attacked by soldiers dressed in black. Reports say that they have made no further gains, fortunately." he said, "And now it makes sense! Tasuki, you need not worry. Even if their military strength is greater, Konan shall not submit!"

Chichiri hooked both his hands' thumbs through his necklace and straightened his fingers. Using his power, he searched the palace for any other enemy presences. Finding none, he turned to Hotohori and dropped his hands.

"Your majesty, the enemy presence has left, no da." he said.

Hotohori shifted the robe around his shoulders and turned to Kaho and Tasuki. He relaxed a bit.

"The danger has passed." he said, "Both of you should rest."

"Yes, yer' majesty." Tasuki said flatly.

Hotohori and the others left the room, closing the doors behind them.

Kaho stared at the floor, Misora's words ringing in her ears once more.

_I like Tasuki, so I'll take him from you!_

Tasuki's words broke through her thoughts. He was also staring at the ground, but he seemed to be in a daze.

"The villages that were attacked... they were all near my village..." he muttered.

Kaho turned her attention to Tasuki, her brow creased with fear and worry.

"Tasuki...!" she whispered.

Tasuki snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Kaho. He forced a smile on his face.

"Don't worry; I ain't goin' anywhere." he said reassuringly, "Get some rest. I'll stay with ya tonight."

Kaho's worried expression did not change, but she got into her bed regardless.

"You really won't leave?" she asked.

Tasuki took a seat beside her bed and laid a comforting hand on hers.

"Yeah, really." he said.

Kaho squeezed his hand slightly and closed her eyes to sleep. Tasuki reluctantly pulled his hand back when he thought she was asleep and went into deep thought.

After a while, he broke out of his thoughts and made a decision. He stood up and gazed at Kaho for a moment. He leaned down and placed a fervent kiss on her lips. He pulled away, then found Kaho's bag beside her bed. He dug around until he found some paper and something to write with. He wrote a message, then left it on the desk beside her bed. He then left to his own room. He packed some things, then left his room, and jumped up the palace wall. Just as he was about to jump down, he heard a voice behind and below him.

"You're going to leave...? I understand..."

Tasuki froze for a second, instantly recognizing the voice. He turned and looked down the wall to see Kaho.

"Kaho... I... I'm sorry..." he said and closed his eyes.

Kaho shook her head.

"No, don't be. You're just concerned about your family, right?" she asked and looked away, "I understand. I don't want you to lose your family either. You shouldn't let me stop you."

Tasuki opened his eyes and gazed sadly down at the girl.

"Kaho..." he whispered. An idea struck his head and he grabbed the tessen on his back. "Here."

Kaho looked up in time to see him dropping the tessen to her.

"This is..." she said.

"My tessen." he finished for her. "I'll come back fer' it, ya hear? So ya better not lose it."

Kaho smiled at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"You bet I won't. I have something for you, too." she said, and pulled out something round from one of her pockets. She tossed it up to him using her right hand. "You lose it and I'll hunt you down."

Tasuki caught the object and observed it. His eyes widened when he realized what it was.

"This is your-" he exclaimed.

"Bracelet, I know." she said with a smile.

Tasuki smiled (more like grinned) back at her and placed the bracelet on his left wrist.

"I won't lose it." he said, then turned back and jumped off.

Kaho watched him leave, finally allowing the tears in her eyes to flow down her face.

"Come back to me safely... Tasuki." she whispered. She walked back to her room. As she entered her room, she noticed a folded piece of paper on her desk. She walked over and sat on her bed. She picked up the paper and opened it, reading the message inside. It was all in Chinese, but she was able to read it. What really made her break down, were the last three words. A new batch of tears flowed out of her eyes and dripped onto the paper.

Kaho wiped the tears away and walked outside of her room, still in her night clothes. She brought the tessen and message with her. She leaned against the railing just outside her room, staring up into the night sky. She stayed there for the rest of the night, already missing Tasuki.

As Hotohori was walking around the palace with a couple of his advisors in the morning, he noticed Kaho, and the sad look on her face. He also noticed that her eyes were a little red and puffy, probably from... crying. He instantly became worried and rushed over to her.

"Kaho, is something the matter? Why are you up so early in the morning?" he asked, then noticed Tasuki's fan in her hand.

"Tasuki's gone..." she answered.  
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Author notes: Yay! It's finished! I'm not very good at describing kissing scenes... So they're short. Sue me. Not literally. In regards to Misora. You're all probably thinking, "... She's gonna KILL someone for... attention? WtH is wrong with that woman?" Ha ha... Well... See, I didn't come up with the idea that she was forgotten 'til a couple chapters ago. Now it's being blown WAY outta proportion and nothing seems logical... Or as logical as people sucking story books and fanfiction can be. Kiddy talk annoyed me a lot XD Hope you liked this chapter. Please review... Please... You don't want to see me cry. I'll give you a cookie if you do! (Gives all readers a cookie)


	18. Chapter 18

Author notes: Not too many author notes this time. Expect updates to be less and far between XD  
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_I am going to prevent the war. Use the time to find the other two warriors of Suzaku._

_Expect me back after you have found them._

Hotohori looked up from the letter at Kaho.

"This... can't be!" he exclaimed.

Kaho shook her head.

"I should get ready before I go look for the warriors." she said calmly. Noticing the way he was looking at her, she tried her best to smile, but it didn't quite reach her lips. "Don't worry about me. I'm okay."

Hotohori stared at her in disbelief.

"But, Kaho..." he started.

Kaho shook her head. She waved a hand at him before entering her room.

Hotohori sighed and left for his study, thinking of Kaho along the way and how she acted.

Shortly after, Kaho walked into the study with Nuriko, Chichiri, and Tamahome behind her. The three warriors bowed their heads and held their hands respectively.

"You are positive you wish to search for the warriors so soon?" Hotohori asked.

"Yup. I've rested enough and ready." she said. Kaho was wearing yet another new attire. She wore grey cargo pants with her black tank top and her hair was up in a ponytail. On her back was her backpack and Tasuki's tessen.

"I'm sorry I lost The Universe of the Four Gods, but..." she said. From the top pocket on the side of her left thigh, she pulled out a small, clear ball that fit perfectly into her palm. "Taiitsukun gave me this crystal ball. It should help."

Hotohori gazed at her sympathetically.

"I wish you luck on your journey." he said.

Kaho nodded and turned to leave. The three warriors bowed again.

"Kaho!" Hotohori called after her.

Kaho turned back to him.

"Hm?" she inquired with a smile.

Hotohori hesitated with his words.

"Nothing. Just…" he said, "Take care of yourself."

Kaho smiled at him, then turned to leave.

"No problem!" she said back, leaving the room with Tamahome, Nuriko and Chichiri behind her.

As the four rode their horses away from the city, down the dry, dirt road, Kaho brought out the crystal ball again and took a look at it. She was riding with Nuriko on a horse, with Tamahome behind them on his own, and Chichiri behind him on his horse as well.

Nuriko stared absently at the ground as they rode, his mind filled with concern for Kaho.

"Kaho… About Tasuki…" he started.

"Where are we gonna start looking?" Kaho asked, evading the subject. "This thing is supposed to do something when we're near a celestial warrior, but it didn't do anything in town."

Nuriko glanced back at Kaho, deciding to leave the topic alone for now.

"For now, we'll just have to wander until we get something I guess." he replied.

Tamahome rode up beside them, deciding to join in the conversation.

"Judging by the direction we're going, we'll be going by Mt. Kaou." he said.

"Isn't there supposed to be a band of mountain bandits there?" Nuriko asked.

Tamahome nodded, while Kaho just blinked at the familiarity of the words.

"Rumors are that the Mt. Kaou bandits and the Mt. Reikaku bandits are rivals." Tamahome informed.

Kaho began to stare into space, in her own little world.

" Mt. Kaou bandits, huh…?" she said quietly.

Mistaking Kaho's forlorn expression as worry, he attempted to lighten the mood.

"We'll be alright!" Nuriko said cheerfully. "Chichiri can handle… eh?"

Tamahome and Kaho looked behind them to see what Nuriko was confused about, and what they didn't find, was Chichiri behind them.

"Hey… Where'd he go?" Tamahome asked.

Back at the palace…

Hotohori propped his elbow on his desk and rested his chin on his knuckles. He closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh. When he opened his eyes again, he found Chichiri's face very close to his.

Hotohori jumped back in his chair in shock.

"Ch-Ch-Ch-Chichiri?!" Hotohori said stuttered.

"I just had to come back, no da!" Chichiri replied. "I couldn't stand to see your majesty so depressed!"

Hotohori gave a small smile, then stood up and turned away. He turned his head slightly to speak to Chichiri.

"'Majesty' or not, I am still human. Tasuki is sacrificing himself for our country. And the way Kaho acts is so…. transparent." he said. "My only wish is to protect Kaho the way Tasuki did."

Chichiri was sitting upon Hotohori's desk when he suddenly came up with an idea and brought his thumbs and forefingers together.

"How about if I be your majesty for a while, no da?" he said, initiating a spell.

Perplexed by Chichiri's words, and also by the _POOF!_ sound behind him, Hotohori turned.

"What?" he asked, but saw only a cloud of smoke.

The smoke cleared and in Chichiri's place stood another Hotohori, from hair to clothes, to face.

The real Hotohori's eyes popped out of their sockets in shock.

The other Hotohori sat down on the desk and crossed his legs. He then changed his face back to the original Chichiri (mask).

"Now we're twins, no da!" Chichiri chirped happily. "The country's in no danger for now, so I can fill in for a little while, no da!"

Hotohori stared a little longer in shock and amazement.

"Ch-Chichiri…" he said with a sympathetic look, which quickly changed to a steely glare. "Your emperor is… much more beautiful than that!"

Thus began the lecture of how to transform into an emperor.

"Royal eyes are more shapely defined; my nose is more shapely! You lack all my sex-appeal!" Hotohori scolded, "Do it over, and do it right!"

"I-I can't do better than this!" Chichiri argued, staring unbelievably at the emperor.

Back with Kaho…

"Hey, mister! Do you have a menu here?"

It was already noon when Nuriko, Tamahome, and Kaho had stopped at a restaurant in a nearby village. The three took their orders as the waiter came around, and then left to prepare their food.

"I wonder where Chichiri went." Kaho said, deciding to bring up a topic to lift up the heavy atmosphere that was there for some reason.

"Kaho, you can stop the act." Tamahome said in a serious voice. "You're worried about Tasuki, aren't you?"

"Oh that? I'm fine!" Kaho replied calmly and waved a hand at him.

"The hell you're fine!" Nuriko burst. He jolted up and slammed his hands on the table, breaking the table in two.

Everybody stared at the cause of the commotion. But Tamahome and Kaho were the special two who stared with sweat drops on their heads.

"Ah, they don't make tables like they used to!" Nuriko said innocently, turning away from the broken table.

Tamahome and Kaho grinned in disbelief.

'Yeah, right.' they thought.

As they were seated to a new table, Nuriko decided to bring up the topic again.

"I-In any case… Are you really alright without Tasuki?" he asked.

"Well… he's gone. There's nothing I can do about that." Kaho replied.

Finally, the waiter came about with their food.

"Here you go." He said with a smile.

"Gah… I'm starving!" Kaho said.

Nuriko and Tamahome looked at each other.

"Well, I guess it's none of our business." Tamahome said and shrugged.

Suddenly, Nuriko caught something in the corner of his eye. He shifted his eyes and found a couple of men at another table glancing at them with sneers and evil glints in their eyes. He realized who they were and quickly turned to Kaho.

"Kaho! Don't eat anything!" he shouted.

Kaho looked up from her plate of food, her mouth full of rice, and half a bun in her hand.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Oh no! You idiot!" Nuriko shouted.

"You ate mine, too!" Tamahome shouted with tears.

Kaho gulped down her food.

"Urk…" she murmured. Her breathing suddenly became heavy and she doubled over onto the floor.

Nuriko and Tamahome bolted up.

"Kaho!" they exclaimed.

A sound behind Nuriko caught his attention. He turned quickly and had to kneel slightly to catch the blade that was going for his head.

"Urr…" he muttered. The blade in his hands shook with the force the user pushed onto it.

Tamahome finished off the other bandit and quickly assisted Nuriko. He side kicked the bandit and helped Nuriko up, but when one went down, another came up.

"Kaho, get out of here! They're the bandits!" Nuriko shouted, while dealing with one of them.

Kaho's eyes widened. A bandit appeared behind her, carrying a Danish axe in his hand, and glared down upon Kaho.

"Hand over the money!" he shouted and reeled his arm back, preparing to strike.

"Kaho!" Nuriko and Tamahome shouted. Finishing off their opponent as quickly as they could, they rushed to Kaho's aid.

The bandit began to drop his arm in a swing.

To Kaho, everything seemed like it was in slow motion. Was she going to die? If so, why wasn't her life flashing before her eyes like most people's did?

Just as the axe was a mere few centimetres away, it stopped, and the bandit fell.

Kaho looked up. Nuriko and Tamahome stopped when they reached her and looked to her savior.

"Hotohori!" Kaho acknowledged happily.

"Your majesty!" Nuriko and Tamahome exclaimed.

Hotohori turned to face the three. He had changed from his emperial robes to his commoner garments and had his hair done in a low ponytail.

"Are you all unharmed?" he asked.

"We're fine, but Kaho…" Nuriko answered, trailing off.

"Has she been poisoned?" Hotohori asked worriedly.

"N-No…" Kaho replied, "I just ate too fast…"

Hotohori and Tamahome fell back, while Nuriko whacked the back of her head.

Some time later, after they had left the restaurant of amazed and bewildered people, they had stopped along the path of a nearby forest.

Hotohori took Kaho a little ways away from the horses to speak with her. Nuriko and Tamahome followed quietly and hid behind a couple of trees.

"What? Chichiri's substituting for you? Why?" Kaho asked.

Hotohori gave her a sympathetic look.

"I couldn't help but worry…" he said, "What with Tasuki's departure."

"Oh no! Not you too!" Kaho replied teasingly, "Do I really look like someone you need to worry about?"

Hotohori reached into his traveling robe and pulled out Tasuki's note.

"Look at this, Kaho." He said. He handed her the note and pointed to the three characters at the bottom. "Tasuki wrote this at the end of his note… Do you know what it says?"

Kaho's face became crestfallen as she gently took the note into her hands. She gazed upon the three Chinese characters for a few seconds before replying.

"Yes…" she said quietly, and hesitated with her next few words. "It says… 'I love you.'"

"That's how he feels about you." Hotohori said softly. "Tasuki delivered himself to the enemy for the sake of his country and family, and above all, for your sake."

"I… I know that…!" Kaho replied; her voice was beginning to break. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out and tears verged on falling. She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued. "I understand, but…"

Kaho whirled about so that he could not see her deeply anguished face. She brought her hands up to wipe away her tears.

"Never mind. Sorry." She said. The tears seemed to be non-stop and she continued to wipe them away. "I'm okay, I'm okay."

"Kaho… I..." Hotohori started.

"It's okay, Hotohori. Don't apologize. You've got nothing to apologize for." She said, unknown to her that that wasn't what he was going to say. As she he wiped the last of her tears away, she felt a pair of arms wrap gently around her. She turned her head to look up. "Hotohori…? What-umpf!"

Next thing she knew, he had placed a soft hand along her jaw to tilt her head towards him and covered her lips with his.

Nuriko and Tamahome watched behind their trees, blushing, and eyes wide with surprise.

Kaho's eyes widened in shock and she gasped. Hotohori took this chance to slip his tongue in her mouth, giving the roof of her mouth and her teeth a small lick before pulling himself back. He released her slightly, only to turn her body around and wrap his arms around her in a tight embrace.

Kaho's eyes were still wide with shock.

"Do you… Do you love Tasuki that much? I know you have no feelings for me. And that it is unfair to do this now! But I…" Hotohori blurted, "I love you! I've loved you from the first moment I saw you!"

Finally regaining her senses, Kaho put her hands and arms on his chest to put a bit of space between them. She blushed madly and averted her eyes to the side.

"H-Hotohori, I-I don't think… I-I can't- I mean…" she stammered. She pushed at him lightly, releasing herself from his arms. As she turned her back to him again, she didn't notice the pained look he had.

Kaho took a step forward and was about to speak when she heard a sound above her. Momentarily distracting her from Hotohori (she's not blushing anymore), she looked up to see a giant square of spikes (wtf was I supposed to call it?) falling down upon her. She gasped and stared wide-eyed at it.

"Kaho!" Hotohori shouted and dived at her. He managed to save her in time, but the two became unconscious afterwards.

Nuriko and Tamahome rushed out from behind the threes and over to the spiked trap, where Kaho and Hotohori now lay beside. As they ran, Nuriko felt a hard object come into contact with his head and fell to the ground, unconscious. Tamahome stopped and turned around, but did not have a chance to act, as he soon also was brought to the unconscious world by a blunt object.

The first to awaken was Kaho. She noticed right away that her hands had been tied behind her back and her legs were tied together as well. She pushed herself up into a sitting position with her upper arms and took a look around. The walls were a dark orange color with a thick lime green border and the ceiling was covered in square maze-like tiles. As she looked to the top right corner of the room, she saw their items and Hotohori's sword and a small square table parallel to the right wall. But something wasn't quite right. If they had taken their items and, apparently, weapons, where was the tessen?

She then looked to the ground around her and noticed Hotohori, Nuriko, and Tamahome.

"Ah! Hotohori! Nuriko! Tamahome!" she cried.

"Uhh…" Hotohori moaned.

"K…Kaho?" Nuriko acknowledged.

Tamahome continued to lay on the ground, pretending to be dead… or still sleeping.

"Looks like you're all okay." Kaho said with relief. "What're we doing here?"

Nuriko sat up and started to look around. As Hotohori sat up, a sharp pain struck his right upper arm, and he winced. He glanced over at the cause of the pain.

Kaho noticed and saw the wound in his arm. She wriggled a little closer to him.

"Hotohori… That wound… Did you get it from shielding me?" she asked.

When he turned his head to look at her, their eyes met and as if at the same time, they remembered the kiss they shared and averted their gazes from each other to hide their blushes.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and five men walked in.

"Wh-who're you?" Kaho asked.

"What? You ain't figgered it out yet?" the man standing at the front of the men said. His accent was very much like that of a person from Texas. "I guess I can fill you in."

All the men's faces began to beam with pride.

"We're the bandits of Kaou Mountain!" the front man answered. "We done took everythin' you got. That's yer toll."

The three narrowed their eyes at the bandits, and clenched their jaws.

Tamahome suddenly "woke up" and screamed, tears pouring down his face.

"My money!" he cried.

The man in the front turned his head to the side and ran a calm hand through his hair, attempting to look as good as he possibly could.

"I'm the boss, so y'all just do what I say- OW!" he screamed and fell back, clutching his head in pain.

In front of him stood Kaho. Her body was bent and her eyes were squeezed shut in pain from the raging headache she inflicted upon herself from the head butt.

"Hey! What the hell's wrong with you?" the injured 'boss' shouted, clutching his head.

Kaho regained her composure and glared murderously at him.

"I'm going to kill you all…" she said in a slow, dark, and very murderous voice.

All the bandits turned pale and began to run away; Kaho chased after them. Although, it is difficult to be menacing when you have your hands and legs tied and you're hopping towards your victims.

"Wh-what the hell's going on?" one of the bandits yelled.

"I'm the priestess, so 'y'all' just do what I say! So stay still!" Kaho said, imitating the accent of the bandits' boss.

Hotohori, Tamahome, and Nuriko stared blankly after Kaho, sweat drops going down the side of their heads.

Suddenly, Kaho was yanked backwards by her hair. She winced and glanced up at her capturer. Too bad for her, it was another bandit.

"Who's the lil' pest?" he asked, giving her an odd look. "Well, the boss did say he wanted one of 'em… You're pretty fiery... Guess it'll be you then!"

"Kaho!" Hotohori cried.

Kaho winced as the man began to tug on her hair.

"I'll be fine. These guys don't stand a chance against a person like me." she said, wincing again as the man tugged harder. "Besides, you're wounded, right, Hotohori? You guys sit still for while. Leave everything to me."

"Come on, you stupid girl!" the man said, giving her one last tug. Finally giving up on her hair, he dragged her away by the ties on her legs.

"Kaho-!" Hotohori called after, but was stopped from chasing after her by a yank on the collar of his robe. He turned his head to find the person responsible for stopping him to find himself face to face with one of the bandits. But for some reason, that bandit had a blush across his face…

"Hey wench! Yer hot!" the bandit said in a giddy voice. "Pour me some wine, an' we'll talk!"

Hotohori stared back with a disgusted, disbelieving look.

"W-wench?!" he demanded.

The man undid the ties to Hotohori and Nuriko's hands and legs, then sat at the table, where the other bandits were.

Nuriko stood up beside Hotohori, a not at all surprised expression on his face.

"Looks like they think we're women too." he said. "We are prettier than Kaho, and she's the real thing."

"Let's do as Kaho says. We shouldn't put up a fight." Nuriko continued.

"A-are you saying your emperor should play the prostitute?!" Hotohori asked, exasperated. "You may be good at this, but…"

"Get yer sweet buns over here!"

Hotohori glanced back at the bandits, not exactly enjoying the idea of serving them. He reluctantly decided to dot it. He walked forward a bit and turned away from everyone.

"Just a moment…" he said, bringing out a small makeup kit. As he finished, he twirled about to face them all, his hair falling gently around his lightly powdered face. He had also placed a bit of lipstick on, making his lips appear even smoother and more irresistible. What man _wouldn't_ want to kiss those?

"Shall we entertain the darlings, Nuriko?" he said.

Tamahome and Nuriko stared in complete shock at the transformation. Tamahome snapped back to his senses as he realized something.

"What the hell am I supposed to do while you two are selling yourself to them?!" he asked.

Nuriko didn't even look at him; he was too preoccupied with the performance Hotohori was putting on.

"Sit still, like Kaho said." he answered, "His majesty is totally into it…!"

"Couldn't you at least untie me?!" Tamahome shouted.

In Kutou…

Tasuki sat cross-legged on the floor in the middle of a small room.

"Welcome, warrior of Suzaku, Tasuki…"

Tasuki turned to the voice and immediately scowled at the familiar figure. In the doorway stood Nakago, general of the Kutou army.

"Like you, I, too, am a celestial warrior, but of Seiryu." he continued, walking over to Tasuki.

"Seiryu? So this was yer' idea? What do ya get outta bringin' me here?" Tasuki demanded.

Nakago now stood in front of Tasuki and stared down at him.

"You are here mainly for her eminence, Misora." he said. He bent down and gripped Tasuki's chin with his left hand, forcing his head to look up at him. "And I have my own interest in you. You are the only warrior who has ever managed to penetrate my guard."

Tasuki smirked.

"Ohh… Guess that means you ain't so tough." he taunted.

Nakago narrowed his eyes slightly and made a small smile. His right hand balled into a fist and connected with Tasuki's face.

"Nakago."

Nakago stood straight again, and turned his head to the voice. Walking towards them was Misora.

Tasuki bared his fans in yet another smirk.

"Didn't even feel it." he said.

Nakago stared down at Tasuki once more, his smile having long faded away.

"I want everyone out. Leave the two of us alone." Misora commanded.

"Very well, your eminence." Nakago said and left, as did anybody else who was in the room.

Tasuki crossed his arms and watched her through the corners of his eyes. Misora stood in front of him and broke the silence between them.

"I'm surprised Kaho made you come." she said, crossing her arms.

Tasuki averted his gaze away from her.

"Kaho doesn't know." he lied. "She'll be fine. Knowin' her, I'm sure she's already on 'er way ta find the other warriors of Suzaku.

Tasuki turned his head to the ceiling, his eyes filled with determination.

"An' when she finds 'em, you can bet I'll bring back The Universe a' the Four Gods scroll ta Konan an' I'll be with Kaho again." he promised.

Misora scoffed silently, but her hands clenched slightly on her arms.

'You've lost, Kaho.' she thought. 'I'll never allow you to see Tasuki again.'

Back at the Mt. Kaou stronghold…

Kaho and her capturer had arrived at the doors of the leader of the Mt. Kaou bandits. Along the way, her capturer had grown tired of lugging her around, and untied her legs. Other bandits had also joined the walked and made only light conversation with her capturer.

He opened the doors and pushed her in.

The room resembled very much like that of a bedroom for intimacy… only there was no bed. The lighting was not very bright, but everything was still visible. Upon entering the room, the expression on Kaho's face was shocked. The person she saw sitting in the cushions on the far side of the room was not someone she thought she'd see again. Ever.

Sitting there was Eikens. The same guy who had tried to attack her on her first day in the new world. The same disgusting, rotund, fat assed, double-chinned, no teeth, beady-eyed prick who attacked her.

"Ah, is this one fer me?" he asked, taking a swig from the bottle in his hand. He looked Kaho over carefully, noting the silky smooth face in which a strangle expression lay upon, the outline of her small, firm breasts, and her fine, shapely legs. He grinned and placed his bottle down. He made a circle with his forefinger and thumb and winked. "I approve!"

Kaho's jaw dropped.

"You gotta be shitting me! No way am I gonna hang out with this disgusting, fucking, fake, fat-assed retard of a leader! You're supposed to be dead, you ass!" she exploded.

The bandits stared with wide eyes at her, except for Eikens, who instead narrowed his eyes.

"Did you take part in killing my brother? Ah, you're with those idiotic Reikaku bandits, aren't you?" he asked with a devilish grin. He looked over the shocked expression of Kaho's. "That's right; we're twins. I am his twin brother, Goro, and those damned Reikaku bandits killed my brother."

Kaho kept her mouth shut, since she couldn't exactly deny it.

"So it's true, then! I'm going to have my revenge right here and now." he said darkly, and gave a lecherous smile.

"You won't be needin' us no more..." the bandits said. They bowed and left the room, closing the doors behind them.

"You can't be serious!" Kaho shouted after them. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna kill all of you!"

Kaho kicked the doors, which hurt more outside her thoughts than it did inside. While she was distracted, she didn't notice Goro as he was walking up to her until she turned around and found his face in front of hers. If it wasn't ugly enough before, it is now. It was then that she noticed the handle of an object on Goro's back. Her eyes widened in angry recognition.

"You…!" she seethed. "You took the tessen! Give it back!"

Goro grinned.

"Uh-uh." he taunted and moved closer to her. His grin widened and he pulled out a knife. "Now, just be still for me…"

Back with Hotohori and the others...

'I hope Kaho is alright…' Hotohori thought as he poured another drink. The wound on his arm had been bandaged, but it didn't do much good. He glanced over to the corner where their items and his sword were.

His mind was brought back to the present situation when he felt one of the bandits cuddling up to him… again.

"Ya might be a little hard bodied, but wench, yer hot!" the bandit said drunkenly.

"Ho ho ho! That's what everyone says." Hotohori said innocently. 'I am going to crush this man.'

Nuriko and Hotohori poured more drinks as the bandits began to talk amongst themselves.

"God I hate Goro! Just 'cause Keiron ain't here, the fat bastard thinks he can play boss! (hik)"

"Ya said it! Ya said it! The man's an idiot. Just 'cause he's big an' mean…"

"An' the dog's got a thing for young girls! How gross can ya get?!"

"An' that girl- give it five more minutes, an' we'll never see her as a virgin."

Evidently, the last comment by the bandits was what really caught Hotohori's attention. He hastily grasped the collar of bandit's shirt and hoisted him up.

"Repeat that!" he said angrily.

The bandit stared at Hotohori with a blank, glazed look, due to the alcohol.

"Your majesty!" Nuriko shouted, throwing the sword to the emperor. While the men had been distracted amongst themselves, he had snuck over to their belongings. Being done with that, he proceeded to untie Tamahome.

The bandits bolted up in their seats, realizing the true genders of their servers.

"Wh-when did ya get to be-" one bandit yelled, but was interrupted by Nuriko's beating.

"So you're men? An' I thought I was in love!"

_Womp!… Biff!… Bash…!_

"It's too late for that, you fools!" Hotohori shouted as he took down another bandit with his sword.

Back with Kaho…

Unfortunately, Goro had taken the upper hand in their fight. Kaho had fallen on her back after an attempted head butt. Her clothes had taken some damage as well. From the middle of her shirt's collar, down to the center of her chest, the fabric had been sliced apart, revealing a bit of cleavage. Her right pant sleeve had also been cut partially; horizontally, just under the knee, and the cloth sagged on her leg. But that cut had also caught her flesh, causing a gash to appear, dripping blood and dying the hanging portion of her pant sleeve a crimson red.

Goro kneeled down beside her, knife read in hand, and lecherous smile plastered on his face. She began to struggle again when he lifted the bottom of her shirt up and pointed his knife at it, but he pinned her legs to the ground with his own hefty leg.

"Get your damned hands off and away from me, you fat piece of lard!" she screamed and tried to move her legs to kick him, but could not.

"Ah, ah, ah." he taunted. "You should stay still, unless you wanna get hurt."

Goro placed his empty hand onto the flesh of her taught stomach.

Kaho's eyes narrowed in anger, and she lifted her head to glare at him. She struggled even more defiantly now. Just as he was about to cut through the material of her shirt, there was a loud sound at the wall behind him.

_Boom…!_

A small portion of the wall behind Goro began to crack and crumble; Goro and Kaho turned toward the wall.

_BOOM…! _

Kaho noticed that Goro was distracted by the wall and his guard was down. She squirmed her right leg free and gave the hardest kick she could muster to Goro's head. He doubled over, releasing her, and she rolled away.

Finally, the wall exploded open, sending chunks of itself flying everywhere. Goro tried to stand up and go for Kaho, but was knocked back down by a flying piece of wall.

Kaho pushed herself into sitting position and turned her head towards the wall.

"Nuriko! Tamahome!" she acknowledged. She pushed herself up and ran to them, but with a slight limp due to the gash below her knee. As she neared them, her leg gave out and she tripped. She closed her eyes, and waited for the impact of the hard floor, but it never came. Instead, she was caught by a pair of soft hands. She tilted her head up to look upon her rescuer.

"Kaho, are you alright?"

"Hotohori…" she whispered and straightened herself as best she could in his hands. "I thought you couldn't move, since you were so badly wounded!"

Hotohori quickly cut through the ties on Kaho's arms with his sword. He pulled her back slightly to gaze down upon her face.

"Kaho… While Tasuki is away, " he said softly, gently cupping the side of her face with his free hand. "I will protect you!"

Kaho stared up at him with a loss of words. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster in her breast.

'Hotohori… You know all about Tasuki and me… and yet you still…?' she thought.

She was taken out of her thoughts as Hotohori maneuvered himself so that she stood behind him.

Goro was rubbing his head when he found himself face to face with the business end of a sword.

"This girl is the Priestess of Suzaku! Lay a finger on her and you die!" Hotohori said angrily.

"Maybe I should get a piece of him first." Kaho said and stood beside him. She loomed over Goro menacingly, cracking her knuckles. Suddenly, she felt herself being picked up quickly and whisked off.

Hotohori stared at the spot she used to be.

"Kaho?" he asked.

"Woman's over here."

Everybody turned to the two large windows at the front of the room. There, standing on the right window's ledge was a dark blue haired bandit with a scar along his left cheek. Kaho was slung around his shoulders, as if he were carrying a goat, and he kept her in place by a hand around an arm and a hand on her leg.

Kaho turned her head to look up at him.

"I swear, you'll regret it if you don't put me down right now." she threatened.

The blue haired man ignored Kaho and moved his eyes to Goro.

"Last time I checked, you were a regular bandit. How the hell'd you get to be boss?" he said and smirked. "If you want 'er back, you gotta fight for her back, with me."

"That's not fair!" Goro yelled. He pulled out a sword and began to charge at the blue haired man.

Slinging her over one shoulder, the blue haired man pulled out a few papers with strange writing on them. He threw them and wolves emerged out of no where, lunging at the people in the room. He turned his back to them and smiled.

"We'll see y'all around!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kaho insisted.

Hotohori and the others glanced at the balcony as they dealt with the wolves.

"Kaho!" Hotohori cried as they disappeared from the window. He escaped from the wolf and started to pursue the two, but before he could reach the window, the wolf lunged at him. He turned quickly and swung his sword, but what remained was not what he expected. "Paper?!"

"I ain't takin' this!" Goro shouted, struggling with the wolves. He pulled out the tessen and aimed it at the wolves. "Rekka Shien – Divine Blaze!"

A span of fire poured out from the fan, burning any wolf it touched to a crisp, but nearly getting the three warriors at the same time.

Taking the advantage, Nuriko, Tamahome, and Hotohori escaped through the open window in an attempt to pursue Kaho.

"That bastardly Reikaku bandit! As long as I got this, nobody's gonna stand against me!" he said, infuriated. "I'll take you any time!"

With Kaho…

The blue haired man carried her down a small distance away from the stronghold to a smaller building. The building was cleverly hidden away by walls of rock, trees, and bushes – perfect for hiding. He took her in through the building's thick metal doors. First thing he did when he stepped inside was look around. The place appeared to be old and rundown. There were many small cracks in the edges of the matching gray walls and floors. Remains of curtains hung from the ceiling, covered in dust. The only thing in the room was a small table with a lit candle.

"Ain't this place great? Found it on my way here." the man said with a smile and walked forward.

Kaho sighed.

"Yes, yes. Now, put me down." She said.

He did so and immediately found his face being smashed into the floor.

"What the hell is your problem? You show up and kidnap me, and tried to kill my friends with wolves that appear out of the frikkin' air and then you drag me away to this old place." she shouted, rubbing his face into the floor. She brought his head up to take a look at his face and suffice to say, she'd done enough damage. He was still conscious, of course… sort of… provided that you look through all the blood and dirt. She sat him back down and sat across from him with her legs crossed over her chest. "You better have a damn good explanation, Kouji."

From the inside of his shirt, Kouji took out a clean cloth and cleaned his face with it.

"An' here I thought ya forgot all about me." he said. "Ya sure have changed. Genrou must be rubbin' off on ya. So, you guys 'do it' yet? Who'm I kiddn'? 'Course ya did! You guys were totally into each other. Speakin' of the guy, where is that ass?"

He stopped to look at Kaho, who was glaring at him.

"Let's get back to my question first, alright?" she said.

Kouji began to explain how the Reikaku bandits were rivals with the Kaou bandits, and they fought every now and then, but as of late, there had been frequent attacks from the Kaou bandits, as well as more and more towns being robbed mercilessly by them. He also explained that he had come to their stronghold to find out what was going on and that was when he saw her. After him, it was then Kaho's turn to explain. She explained everything that had happened to her, except the part where she and Tasuki had fallen in love with each other. He'd never let her live it down if she told him that.

"So, Genrou's in Kutou, huh…?" he said as she finished. Kaho nodded in reply.

Suddenly, there was a sound outside the doors. They immediately kneeled and stilled, waiting for something to happen. Both of them stared intensely at the doors. Finally, the doors opened, and in the door stood a man with long, ocean blue hair that reached the middle of his back and eyes that seemed to match the color of his hair. He wore a dirty white tunic with dark blue pants and brown belt around his waist. He also wore black guards on his thighs, black wrist guards, and chest plate connected with black shoulder pads.

Kouji smirked.

"Well if it ain't the Kaou bandit leader, Keiron, himself. Unless you been to yer own stronghold yet, ya need some fillin' in." he said.

The Kaou bandit leader stared at the two.

"Nobody knows of this place but me… How did you find it? And who is this girl?" Keiron asked, a stern look on his face.

Kouji returned to sitting on the ground with his legs crossed.

"Sit down an' we'll talk, an' we can make a deal." he said with a grin.

Keiron stared at them a little longer before reluctantly deciding to comply. He sat down and Kouji began to explain everything again. Firstly, he introduced Kaho, referred to as "Genrou's woman" and received a whack to the head from said woman, then introduced her properly.

"O-kay! I'll help you out, Keiron." Kaho announced suddenly as everything settled.

The two bandits stared at her with blank looks.

"What?" she asked. "I gotta go back and help Hotohori, Nuriko, and Tamahome out anyway. Why not kill a fat bird with a stone?"

"Wha? I didn't say you could-" Kouji started, but was interrupted by a slap to the head from Kaho.

"Alright! It's unanimous! Let's go!" she said and stood up.

The three left the smaller building and began to make their way up the mountain. They stopped behind some bushes near the room that Kouji had kidnapped Kaho from. Both windows were open and they could see that all the bandits had gathered in that room, but there wasn't a trace of Nuriko, Hotohori, or Tamahome. Goro stood at the front with the tessen in his hands.

"We gotta get the tessen back." Kaho said, lingering a little longer on the weapon.

Kouji nodded and pulled out the same papers as before that made wolves appear.

"Hey, how does that trick work? Can I see?" Kaho asked eagerly.

"Genrou brought 'em back one day. Said he met a priest that called 'em 'spell cards.' Told me ya write what you want on it, an' an illusion pops up!" Kouji said, handing her the cards.

Kaho wondered in curiosity if they would really work. One example is never enough, you know. She turned away and began to write on them, writing whatever came to mind.

"Hey, hey! Give those back already!" Kouji said.

"Just a second…!" she said with her head turned and wrote one last thing before giving them back.

"We'll get in through the back and surprise them." Keiron said.

Kouji and Kaho nodded and began to move when a blade suddenly cut in front of Kouji through the bush, nearly stabbing his neck.

Hotohori popped out of the bush, a not too pleased expression on his face.

"There you are, cretin! How dare you touch Kaho!" he said.

Kaho blinked.

"Hotohori!" she acknowledged happily, then noticed the other two as well. "Nuriko! Tamahome! I'm glad you're all okay!"

"Kaho…?" Hotohori said, astonished.

"Isn't that our line?" Tamahome said.

After everything settled down, everybody entered the stronghold in the back. During so, Kaho explained the situation to her three warriors and also that she would help the two bandits.

"I understand your reasons… However, cooperating with these…?" Hotohori whispered as they hid in one of the halls.

"Yeah. They're bandits so they must've been to some villages. Maybe they can tell us if they've ever seen a person with a character on their body. Kouji's one of Tasuki's friends, remember? So, I trust him, and it's important to me too!" Kaho insisted.

Hotohori gave in and smiled at her.

"That is one of the things I love about you, I suppose." he said.

As they were about to turn a corner, there was a shout behind them.

"Hey! Isn't that Keiron?"

"It's Keiron! Keiron's over here!"

The shouting seemed more happy than anything else…

"No!" Keiron cursed.

"No problem! Sic' 'em wolves!" Kouji shouted and threw out a spell card. But what popped out was not a wolf, but rather, a pile of dung.

Everybody stared with blank looks, except for Kaho, who was slowly backing away.

"Urk… Let's try that again!" Kouji said and threw more spell cards. Animals such as a camel, llama, goat, (not a wolf) as well as junk food and video games (also not wolves) came out.

"What the hell?!" Kouji screamed, then turned to Kaho, who was trying to sneak away. "That's your writing on the spell cards, isn't it?!"

"It as an accident!" she said.

"How do you write by accident!?" Kouji shouted back.

Suddenly, Hotohori sensed something and rushed to Kaho.

"Take cover!" he shouted. Everybody hugged the walls tightly as a wave of flame passed through, incinerating everything the spells cards brought up.

In the middle of the split crowd of bandits stood Goro. In his hands was the tessen and he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Nice to see you, Keiron. I didn't expect you back so soon." he said, then turned to Kouji. "Where're your famous wolves now, Reikaku filth?"

"This is bad. It seems as though we can't get close to Goro without those spells cards." Keiron muttered.

"Just leave it to me!" Kaho shouted and pat her chest. She ran at Goro, despite the pain in her leg, and bashed him with her shoulder. She attempted to steal the tessen right after, but his grip was still tight around it. She was too late to escape as well, and Goro managed to wrap his empty hand around her neck.

"Kaho, no!" Hotohori cried.

"One move and I'll strangle her." Goro threatened.

Everybody remained frozen on spot, not daring to try Goro.

"This… is no problem!" Kaho shouted, and turned to the bandits. "You guys! You actually want to follow this bastard's orders?! You're gonna kill a trusted friend because of a stupid fan?! What the hell is wrong with all of you?!"

The bandits became hesitant and ashamed.

"Shaddup!" Goro shouted and squeezed her neck tighter.

Kaho squeezed one eye shut, but forced the other to stay open and glare at him.

"F-fuck you… You f-fat piece of l-lard." she said. She squeezed her open eye shut and grit her teeth as the grip around her neck tightened once more.

"That's enough! Stop!" Keiron shouted.

"If you must kill someone, kill me!" Hotohori pleaded.

Kaho forced her eyes to open slightly. Her vision was beginning to blur, due to the lack of oxygen.

'Damn it… Damn it…!' she thought. 'Tasuki…!'

Goro's eyes widened as a figure suddenly appeared. Hotohori and the others' eyes widened as well as they recognized the figure.

"Ta-Tasuki!" Hotohori acknowledged.

Tasuki glared upon Goro and began to charge at him. He was like a blur, and in no time, his fist made contact with Goro's chin in an uppercut. Goro was forced to release Kaho, and fell to the ground. A bandit snuck up behind Tasuki and was about to attack, when Tasuki turned and fought him off.

Kaho stared as she watched him beat one bandit after another, speechless. After all, here was the man she loved, fighting to protect her.

Goro raised his head weakly from the ground.

"Unk… Wh-where's my tessen?" he said, moving his hand around in search for it. But he soon found himself, once again, staring at the business end of a sword. Goro looked up to find that it was Keiron and the tessen was in Kouji's hands.

"It's over for you, Goro." Keiron said. "Your actions will have severe consequences."

Kaho watched as Tasuki finished off the last of the bandits that was after him. He turned and looked at her. He was only a few steps away, yet she could not move from her place.

"Ta… suki…" she whispered.

Tasuki grinned, showing his fangs to her. He gave her a thumbs up and began to fade away. And falling from the air was one of the spell cards. Kaho stared at it as it fell; she hadn't realized that she had written his name on one of them.

Kaho kneeled down and picked it up; she gazed at it, thinking of nothing else but it.

"Kaho…" Hotohori whispered as he sheathed his sword.

After a while, Kaho had her knee bandaged and received the tessen back from Kouji and was conversing with everyone until they heard one of the bandits.

"Ahem..."

Everybody turned to the bandits to see what they wanted. The bandits had gathered and kneeled on the floor with their bodies facing them.

"Keiron, look. We're really sorry!" they said and bowed.

"Enough." Keiron said. "If you want to bow down to someone, bow to the Priestess of Suzaku here. She is the reason that I remain leader."

"He's got a point. Thanks, yer ladyship." one bandit said and they began to bow.

Kaho blinked.

"Oh screw bowing. It's nothing important I did." she said. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you guys a question. Since you guys are bandits, you go around and rob towns, right? Well, you ever been to a town and met a person with a Chinese character on their body somewhere?"

One of the bandits raised his head.

"Well, I did hear this rumor…" he started. "Up north in the town of Chokou, there's supposed to have a magician who can cure people and bring 'em back from the dead."

"Are you serious?" Kaho asked, not sure what to think. 'I thought bringing the dead back was impossible.'

"As serious as you can be fer a rumor." the bandit replied.

"Okay then! We're going to Chokou to find out!" Kaho said.

"Kaho!" Hotohori, Nuriko, and Tamahome yelled, shocked that their priestess would believe such an unbelievable rumor.

Kaho turned to them.

"What? If it's a chance that this person is a warrior, why not take it?" she said.

The three warriors sighed in defeat. Who could beat her simplistic logic?

The next morning, Kaho and her three warriors had received their supplies and more for their journey from the bandits. They had already mounted their horses and were prepared to leave; Kaho said in front of Hotohori on one horse, and Nuriko and Tamahome had taken their own.

"Take care, you guys!" Kaho yelled, the turned to face the road.

'If this really is a warrior, we'll be a step closer to summoning Suzaku, and I'll see Tasuki again soon.' she thought, and remained silent as the horse took her down the mountain path, clipping and clopping its hooves on the ground.

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Author notes: Finally. Another chapter done. I'm pretty happy with how I described Goro and Kaho's fine body XD Ha ha… Reading rated M novels actually comes in handy! Yay! - I MEAN… Crap… How am I supposed to get out of this one? You've won this round, but I'LL BE BACK! Now please review.


	19. Announcement

I have bad news... Well... Bad news for you guys anyway. Kinda sad for me XD

I'm gonna be discontinuing this story. I'm not gonna discontinue my other one though... 'Cause seriously it's only a few chapters long and if I can't do that I really can't do anything. I still like it anyway.

Anyway, the reason i'm discontinuing this story is because of the lack of my interest. Seriously. Haven't you guys ever wondered at all, "... Where the hell is the next chapter? When's she gonna update (tears)?"  
"It's been (insert random number here) months!"

and most importantly...

"WHERE IS MY COOKIE?!"

Yes... I am truly sorry to say, that none of you shall ever receive... your COOKIES. Ahem. Yes. If anybody wants to know something really evil I did or wants to know what I was planning for the rest of the supposed story, you guys can email me or leave a comment and I'll get back to you guys XD

Anyway. Besides that. Even though I decided to stop writing this one, I have like, a billion other ones in my head for the other characters. They're all going to get their own freaking priestess because I said so, except for Chiriko ('Cause I just can't think of him as an older guy... or a child priestess) and Mitsukake 'cause he's already got his own lady... And Chichiri... Um... He doesn't technically get a priestess unless that's what the title I gave Kaiya is, then he does get his priestess just not the suzaku priestess... And Tamahome... Because he's already GOT one. I dunno about Tasuki. I have an idea for him where he almost gets one but not quite. I still have to think for him.

I'm totally stoked to write my imaginary stories that I soon hope to be less imaginary and more virtual with text and ... many zeros and ones. You know, those binary number things... My science teacher is trying to kill me! He doesn't know I know that he's going to kill me so my brain is dying from trying to keep it in. HE WON'T EVEN ACCEPT A COOKIE. Can you believe that?! What person does NOT accept a cookie?!

Actually I think you guys got cookies... Some time ago... I dunno. You can all have a doughnut. But not a cookie. Because the cookies are mine. But doughnuts are still yummy. Because I say so. I like blueberry muffins too. Those are YUMMY.

Um. Yeah. So therefore, Nuriko, Hotohori, maybe Tasuki... Hey wow... Is that really it... Actually I think Tamahome might get one... Who knows. But I'll try not to let you guys know which pairings go with what stories XD I hope to have a quadrilateral relationship in one of my stories... and that's gonna be tough to write... My other is pretty obvious... And I swear I had another idea but it's not in my head right now.

See y'all later. Ja ne.


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